| Rules for the Importation of Dogs or Cats into Taiwan |
| （In case of any discrepancy between the Chinese text and the English translation thereof, the Chinese text shall govern.） |
Article 1
The rules are established pursuant to Article 34-1 paragraph 1 of the Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease. Matters not provided herein shall be governed by other applicable Regulations. |
Article 2
The rabies-free countries and rabies-infected countries as stated in this rules are referred to the “List of Infectious Animal Diseases-free and Disease Infected Countries (Zones)” promulgated by competent authority of this country. |
Article 3
The dog or cat to be imported shall have been vaccinated with inactivated vaccines against rabies prior to shipment in accordance with the followings:
1. The dog or cat from rabies-infected countries shall be vaccinated, in the case of a primary vaccination, at the age of at least 90 days old, and the period between the day of vaccination and the day of shipment shall be no less than 180 days and no more than one year. In the case of a booster vaccination, the animal shall have been vaccinated no more than one year prior to shipment.
2. The dog or cat from rabies-free countries shall have been vaccinated when at the age of at least 90 days old; and the period between the day of vaccination and the day of shipment shall be no less than 30 days and no more than one year. |
Article 4
The importer shall apply for an import permit for the dog or cat from animal quarantine authority at the port of entry at least 30 days prior to shipment. The dog or cat from rabies-infected countries will be allowed entry only upon the confirmation of arrangement and reservation of the post-entry quarantine space in the quarantine facility by animal quarantine authority at the port of entry prior to import. The pregnant dog or cat to be imported will be allowed entry only when the pregnancy is under 4 weeks at the time of shipment. |
Article 5
The importer, when applies for an import permit, shall submit an application and the following documents:
1. Rabies vaccination certificate issued by a veterinarian of exporting country and certifying vaccination by inactivated vaccines.
2. A copy of passport or identification card of the importer.
3. Report of neutralization antibody titration test for rabies antibody which shall be at least 0.5IU/ml and tested by rabies reference laboratories of the World Organization for Animal Health or laboratories designated by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine with the blood sampling date no less than 180 days and no more than 2 years prior to shipment (applicable to the dog or cat from rabies-infected country). The rabies vaccination certificate shall be in Chinese, English or bilingual language and state the breed, sex, age, microchip number, date of rabies vaccination, and whether the vaccination was primary or a booster. If any document is not in order or the rabies vaccination is not in compliance with Article
3, the import permit shall not be issued. If the scheduled date of entry has to be changed after the import permit is issued, the importer shall submit an application with a copy of the original import permit and apply to the original issuance authority for the change within 30 days before the expiry of the original import permit. The application for changing date of entry will be allowed for only one time. |
Article 6
On arrival of the dog or cat at the port of entry, the importer shall apply to the animal quarantine authority for quarantine inspection and submit the import permit, original veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country, bill of lading or custom declaration form. The dog or cat without an original veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country shall be re-exported or destroyed. |
Article 7
For importation of dog or cat from rabies-infected countries, the veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country shall be in Chinese, English or bilingual language and include the following information:
1. Breed, sex, age, and microchip number of the dog or cat.
2. Date of vaccination against rabies with inactivated vaccine, and whether the vaccination was primary or a booster.
3. No clinical sign of rabies shown upon inspection of the dog or cat.
4. At least 0.5 IU/ml rabies antibody in the blood of the dog or cat sampled no less than 180 days and no more than 2 years prior to shipment for a neutralization antibody titration test which shall be carried out by rabies reference laboratories of the World Organization for Animal Health or laboratories designated by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine. For importation of dog or cat from rabies-free countries, the veterinary certificate issued by the animal quarantine authority of exporting country shall be in Chinese, English or bilingual language and include the following information:
1. Breed, sex, age, and microchip number of the dog or cat.
2. Date of vaccination against rabies with inactivated vaccine.
3. No clinical sign of rabies shown upon inspection of the dog or cat.
4. No case of rabies reported in the exporting country for the past 2 years.
5. The dog or cat has been raised in the exporting country continuously for at least 6 months prior to shipment or since birth. |
Article 8
When conducting quarantine inspection of the dog or cat imported from rabies-infected countries, animal quarantine authority at the port of entry shall check the veterinary certificate and detain the dog or cat at the designated post-entry quarantine premise for 21 days. If the dog or cat is confirmed free from clinical evidence of any communicable animal disease after quarantine, the animal quarantine authority will issue import veterinary certificate and release the dog or cat. During quarantine detention, the blood of the dog or cat may be sampled 7 days after entry and tested again for rabies antibody. If the rabies antibody is under 0.5 IU/ml, the dog or cat shall be revaccinated with inactivated rabies vaccine. |
Article 9
If the dog or cat imported from rabies-infected countries is found with any of the following situation, the regulations described below shall be followed:
1. If the information as stated in the veterinary certificate is not in compliance with Article 7 paragraph 1, the importer shall provide correct information during the period of detention; otherwise the dog or cat shall be re-exported, destroyed or detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premise for 180 days and be subjected to the regulation of Article 8 paragraph 2.
2. If the rabies vaccination is not in compliance with Article 3, the dog or cat shall be re-exported, destroyed or detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premise for 180 days and be subjected to the regulation of Article 8 paragraph 2.
3. If the blood sampling date for neutralization antibody titration test for rabies antibody is less than 180 days prior to shipment, the dog or cat shall be detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premise until the 180 days time period is attained then shall be subjected to the regulation of Article 8. 4. For dog or cat without an import permit, the period of detention in quarantine shall be extended for 7 to 30 days depending on details of the incompliance. |
Article 10
When conducting quarantine inspection of the dog or cat imported from rabies-free countries, animal quarantine authority at the port of entry shall check the veterinary certificate. If it is found in compliance with Article 3 and Article 7 paragraph 2 and the dog or cat is confirmed free from clinical evidence of any communicable animal disease, the animal quarantine authority will issue import veterinary certificate and release the dog or cat. |
Article 11
If the dog or cat imported from rabies-free countries is found with any of the following situation, the regulations described below shall be followed:
1. If the information as stated in the veterinary certificate is not in compliance with Article 7 paragraph 2, the dog or cat shall be detained at the port of entry until the importer provides the correct information before due date, otherwise the dog or cat shall be re-exported, destroyed or detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premise for 21 days, and be subjected to the regulation of Article 8 paragraph 2.
2. If the dog or cat is transshipped through rabies-infected countries, it shall be re-exported, destroyed or detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premise for 21 days, and be subjected to the regulation of Article 8 paragraph 2.
3. If the dog or cat is found with suspected communicable animal disease on arrival, it shall be detained in designated post-entry quarantine premise for observation until it is confirmed healthy.
4. If the rabies vaccination is not in compliance with Article 3 on arrival, the dog or cat shall be detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premise until the period for vaccination is over 30 days.
5. For the dog or cat without import permit, it shall be detained in the designated post-entry quarantine premise for 7 to 30 days depending on details of the incompliance. |
Article 12
For the dog or cat that has been exported from Taiwan to rabies-free countries for less than 6 months to be re-imported, the importer shall apply for an import permit and submit an application with the following documents to the animal quarantine authority at the port of entry:
1. A copy of export veterinary certificate issued by animal quarantine authority indicating export from Taiwan.
2. A copy of passport or identification card of the importer.
3. The I.D. for registered pet of the dog (in the case of re-importing dog).
The importer shall apply for quarantine inspection on arrival of the dog or cat in accordance with Article 6.
The veterinary certificate accompanied with the re-imported dog or cat shall be in compliance with Article 7 paragraph 1 items 1 to 4, and shall further state that “The dog (cat) has not been to the third country since it arrived in this country.” If the re-imported dog or cat without an import permit or the information of the veterinary certificate is not in compliance with previous paragraph, the dog or cat shall be re-exported, destroyed or detained at the designated post-entry quarantine premise for 21 days, and be subjected to the regulation of Article 8 paragraph 2. |
Article 13
If the dog or cat imported from rabies-infected countries is under 90 days of age at time of arrival, it shall be detained for quarantine until 90 days of age, then vaccinated with rabies vaccine. After vaccination, it will be detained for another 180 days before release.
If the dog or cat imported from rabies-free countries is under 90 days of age at time of arrival, it shall be detained for quarantine until 90 days of age, then vaccinated with rabies vaccine. After vaccination, it will be detained for another 30 days before release. |
Article 14
The animal quarantine authority shall designate an official to escort the dog or cat to be transported from the port of entry to the designated post-entry quarantine premise. The importer shall provide transportation vehicle or bear the expenditure for the transportation.
If the dog or cat is not installed with microchip, it shall be installed immediately after arriving at the designated post-entry quarantine premise before detention begins. |
Article 15
If the dog or cat in the designated post-entry quarantine premise is found with suspected communicable animal diseases when the quarantine period is up, the quarantine shall be extended until it is confirmed healthy. |
Article 16
After the dog or cat is released from the quarantine detention, the animal quarantine authority shall provide a copy of veterinary certificate and microchip number of the imported dog or cat to the local animal disease control authority for monitoring inspection for 3 months. |
| Article 17 The expenses for microchip and quarantine and other related fees shall be borne by the importer. |
Article 18
The Rules become effective on June 6, 2005. |
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