Reintroduced to Congress this year, the Healthy Dog Importation Act is on the roll, gaining wide support from various veterinary organizations including:
- The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
- The Pet Food Institute (PFI)
- The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA),
- …and 46 other veterinary associations across Northern America.
The main thrust of the bill is to improve the importation standards of dogs in the United States to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases affecting animal and human health. The bill provides solutions to the importation of unhealthy dogs by expanding the role of the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (USDA-APHIS) program to allow them in monitoring the health of dogs being imported into the country.
It would follow that every imported dog shall have a certificate of inspection from a licensed veterinarian to confirm their health status and is not at risk of spreading zoonotic diseases such as rabies and canine influenza that could harm both animal and public health populations, prior to their entry in the country.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) estimates more than 1 million dogs are imported annually to the US, of which 90% enter with minimal oversight. In February 2023, CDC further reports an increasing number of rabid dogs entering the US. It has responded by placing a temporary ban on canine importation from high-risk-rabies-enzootic countries.
“Unfortunately, the current process or lack thereof can introduce dangerous foreign animal diseases and pests into the US,” says Atalie Ebersole, PFI’s senior director of government relations, in an organizational release.
The bill is sponsored by US Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and 7 other co-sponsors including US Senators James Risch (R-ID), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and 8 Congressional Representatives: Dusty Johnson (R-SD-at large), Annie Kuster (D-NH-2), Eric A Crawford (R-AR-1), John Garamendi (D-CA-8), David Rouzer (R-NC-7), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), Robert J Wittman (R-VA-1), and Betty McCollum (D-MN-4).
In a press release, Grassley emphasized that the bill seeks to maintain animal health as it is critical to overall public health goals and its importance of working to stop the spread of diseases.
Finally, in the process of passing the proposed legislation into law, lawmakers and organizations supporting the bill vowed to continue advocating for human and animal health. AVMA expressed in a release, “As the new Congress begins, the AVMA will continue to educate lawmakers about the importance of the Healthy Dog Importation Act and work to pass the bill into law.”
Read the full story here.
In this future improvement in the importation of healthy dogs, AIV takes part in ensuring that we provide businesses like yours with quality medical equipment and assist in extending the life of your infusion pumps to facilitate the needs of canine patients across Northern America.
If you’re looking for cost-effective services for your equipment, get in touch with us today.