USA banned the import of dogs from 113 countries, including post-Soviet: list - ForumDaily
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The United States has banned the import of dogs from 113 countries, including post-Soviet: list

The United States has banned the importation of dogs from more than 100 countries for at least a year due to a sharp increase in the number of puppies entering the country with fake rabies vaccination certificates. It is reported by NPR.

Photo: Shutterstock

"We're doing this to make sure we're protecting the health and safety of dogs that are imported into the United States and also protecting public health," Dr. Emily Pieracci of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told NPR.

The pandemic has sparked a spike in the adoption of pets, including puppies, as Americans seek companionship while remaining isolated at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

This has been accompanied by an increase in the importation of dogs, as well as an increase in the number of dogs entering the country with falsified or fake rabies certificates, Pieracci said. During 2020, she said, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detected more than 450 dogs arriving in the United States with fake rabies certificates, a 52% increase over the previous two years.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, shelters were reporting record low numbers because everyone was adopting puppies during the pandemic. And so there is a possibility that there is a correlation between empty shelters here causing increased demand to buy puppies overseas,” she says.

The pressure to meet growing demand may have prompted unscrupulous breeders to cut corners, especially in places so reeling from the pandemic that they have had difficulty keeping up with their rabies vaccination programs, she says.

“Given the impact of COVID on vaccination programs around the world, we are not sure what the rabies situation will look like in the future. But we are definitely concerned that there may be an increased risk of introducing a rabid dog,” she said.

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How dogs and humans get rabies

Rabies was eliminated from dogs in the United States in 2007, although unvaccinated dogs bitten by rabid animals (or exposed to saliva)—such as raccoons, skunks or bats—can still contract the disease. Today, domestic dogs in the United States are routinely vaccinated against rabies to protect them.

But rabies remains one of the deadliest diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people around the world. Worldwide, about 59 people die from rabies each year — about one human death every nine minutes, Pieracci said. Rabies is almost always fatal once a person develops symptoms.

The United States imports about 1 million dogs annually. Therefore, starting July 14, the CDC will ban the import for a year of any dogs from 113 countries that are considered to be at high risk of rabies. Countries widespread and include such post-Soviet states as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

“We're trying to prevent rabies from being reintroduced into the United States from a source outside the United States,” Pieracci says.

Veterinarians praise this decision.

“If a new strain of rabies [were] to be introduced into the United States, it would simply be a matter of where it would spread and how quickly it would spread,” says Dr. Douglas Kratt, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. “It’s probably not a question of if, but where and how quickly it will happen.”

But not everyone is thrilled with the CDC's restrictive move.

"While we understand the need to keep animals safe in the U.S., we are concerned that this move will penalize responsible pet owners who adopt rescued animals from other countries," Meredith Ayan, executive director of SPCA International, told NPR.

“It will also result in large numbers of healthy animals living overseas being potentially euthanized if they are unable to travel to the US to live with their adoptive owners. The US already has strict rabies quarantine and vaccination procedures that have proven to be effective over the years in protecting US animals from rabies, and we urge the CDC to continue to enforce this law. ”

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Some individual exemptions from the import ban

Pieracci stresses that the ban will be revised in a year. Meanwhile, exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis, for example for people returning home after living abroad.

“We understand that some people will need to bring their dog to the United States,” Pieracci says. “And so the CDC has developed a process by which people can apply for permission to bring their dog with them.”

And anyone hoping to get a dog shouldn't worry, she says. Prohibited countries only make up about 6% of all dogs imported each year. And there are still many dogs available for domestic adoption.

“We have many dogs that need wonderful, loving homes here in the United States,” said Dr. Jerry Klein, Chief Veterinarian of the American Kennel Club. “There should be no need to travel overseas to meet the need for loving homes for dogs and cats in the United States.”

Health officials say the risk to most puppies who have already been adopted during the pandemic is likely low, adding that anyone concerned about the puppy's condition should consult a veterinarian who can do a blood test to check vaccination status.

“There's a chance that if you bought a puppy and it came overseas from a country with a high risk of rabies, it may not have been properly vaccinated against rabies,” Pieracci says. “You might want to check this out, or maybe just give your dog a booster shot.”

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