The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has rolled over on plans to require dog owners crossing the border from Canada to fill out onerous paperwork this summer.
The agency made the announcement Monday – prompting sighs of relief from pets owners in the Yukon and elsewhere.
In May, the CDC had laid out new rules aimed at keeping dog-variant rabies out of the country.
The rules stated dogs had to be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies and accompanied by two forms, including one signed by a veterinarian. The forms were supposed to include photos of the dog’s teeth, and would be verified upon arrival by border agents.
The changes had been set to take effect Aug. 1. They were panned by veterinary associations, the tourism industry and the federal government in Canada.
Officials here said they were trying to secure an exemption because of Canada’s status as a rabies-free country.
Last week, Health Minister Mark Holland said he had secured a partial exemption to the rules and was hopeful for a grace period. The CDC announcement Monday went further.
Mary Vanderkop, the chief veterinary officer with the Yukon government, spoke to The Yukon Star about the situation last Friday.
She said at that point she was pleased with some of the ongoing changes that have been made already after the original, very stringent proposals made earlier by American officials.
She explained the concern has little to do with Canada per se. Instead, it’s an international problem revolving around a strain of rabies being found amongst dogs being imported from around the world.
American health officials are trying to ensure these variants don’t gain a toehold in the United States, she said, and Canada is being caught in the ride.
Vanderkop said there is no indication that the variants are here in Canada. Rabies amongst dogs are virtually wiped out in the country. Canadian officials, she said, had been trying to gain an exemption from American officials due to that.
It was definitely a matter of concern amongst pet owners, Vanderkop said, judging by what she’s heard directly and what she’s been seeing on social media channels.
Under the rules announced Monday, so long as a dog has been in a low-risk or rabies-free country for the last six months, it can cross the border with just an import form that can be completed online the day of travel.
– With a file from The Canadian Press.
