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Hong Kong may reduce quarantine for imported pets but animals must be vaccinated, tested

  • Environment chief says government in ‘final stage’ of study on quarantine rules, will next explore ‘implementation details’

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A veterinarian prepares to vaccinate a pet cat.  Photo: Shutterstock

Certain cats and dogs being imported to Hong Kong may be allowed a shorter quarantine period under a proposal being readied by the government, but they must still be vaccinated and tested for rabies, the city’s environment chief has said.

Pets currently brought in from countries or places considered high-risk areas, such as mainland China, Macau and Malaysia, must undergo a 120-day quarantine before they are allowed entry into the city.

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan told lawmakers on Wednesday that the government’s study to reduce the quarantine period was in its “final stage”.

“As biotechnology has developed in recent years, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department is exploring the feasibility of shortening the quarantine period ... [through] measures such as rabies vaccination and rabies antibody titer testing,” he said.

“We will next explore the implementation details, including discussing arrangements with places concerned, with the aim of rolling out the testing arrangements as soon as possible.”

Tse was responding to questions from lawmaker Maggie Chan Man-ki, who asked for an update on the government’s study and also wanted to know how authorities would facilitate pet owners’ travel with their animals to the mainland and overseas.

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