Some pet owners of dogs and cats that entered Hawaii from July 1, 2000, to June 30, 2001, are eligible to receive a partial refund of quarantine fees. Partial refund of
quarantine fees offered
to some animal ownersStar-Bulletin staff
Regular fees are $1,080 for a 120-day quarantine and $655 for pets that qualify for the 30-day quarantine. The temporary fee reduction would be $120 for dogs and cats belonging to civilians and active-duty military grades E-7 to O-3 and $220 for active-duty military grades E-1 to E-6. There will be no fee reduction for active-duty military officers above grade O-3.
Sliding-scale reductions for military personnel were requested by Commander in Chief, Pacific, CINCPAC, to provide more assistance to lower-ranking personnel.
Hawaii is the only rabies-free state. All dogs and cats entering the state are required to complete quarantine unless they are arriving from rabies-free areas such as Australia, New Zealand and the British Isles.
Process of the application and refund is expected to take four to six weeks. Reductions do not apply to pets that were in transit and did not complete the quarantine program, pets born in quarantine and pets that did not enter quarantine during the specified period.
Fee reductions resulted from a $500,000 appropriation from the state Legislature last year.
The proposal was approved in March by the state Board of Agriculture.
About 4,100 dogs and cats go through quarantine each year.
Refund applications are now available on the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Web site at www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/ai_aqs_info.htm.
Pet owners can also call the animal quarantine station at 483-7151 or request an application by fax at 483-7161.
Star-Bulletin Hawaii Quarantine page