STAR-BULLETIN / JULY 2007
Pets can now enter the state at neighbor island airports.
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Neighbor isles open door to pets
Animals coming to the state with proper vaccinations have more ports of entry
Animal owners may bring their cats and dogs into Hawaii through neighbor island airports under an extension of the Five-Day-or-Less rabies quarantine program.
Animals with the required vaccinations, health certificates and blood tests may be shipped directly to the Maui, Kauai or Kona airports rather than entering the state through Honolulu Airport.
The state Department of Agriculture made the announcement to coincide with World Rabies Day today, which was established to increase awareness of the problem of rabies worldwide. Hawaii is one of the few places in the world that is rabies-free.
The Five-Day-or-Less program was implemented in June 2003, ending the previous requirement that animals be held for as long as 120 days at the state quarantine facility in Halawa. With no animal holding facilities or state inspectors outside of Oahu, the program was not expanded until private veterinary agencies were contracted to conduct entry inspections of arriving pets. They are Maui Humane Society and South Shore Veterinary Care on Maui, Kauai Humane Society and Kona Veterinary Service.
Pets arriving at neighbor island airports will need a special Neighbor Island Inspection Permit in addition to the requirements of two rabies vaccinations at least three months apart; a rabies blood test performed at least 120 days before arrival in Hawaii; a microchip imbedded for identification; and a veterinarian's health certificate from the point of origin.
Detailed information on the requirements is available at www.hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/ags/info.
Animals that arrive without the required precautions and paperwork will be kept in quarantine for 120 days.
Since the quarantine was eased, the number of dogs and cats imported into the state has increased by 85 percent, according to the state. During the 2007 fiscal year, 8,804 dogs and cats entered the state.