Gov't cuts quarantine period for cats and dogs imported from Macau

The quarantine period will be shortened to 30 days, from the current 120 days.

The government will shorten the quarantine period for pet cats and dogs imported from Macau to 30 days upon arrival in Hong Kong, down from 120 days, provided they meet the relevant quarantine requirements.

The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department (AFCD) has included Macau in the GroupIIIA category list. The department is currently in talks about adding Mainland China to the group.

For places under GroupIIIA, the animals must be implanted with a microchip, have valid vaccination certificates for rabies and other infectious diseases, and undergo rabies-neutralising antibody testing. 

They must also present an animal health certificate issued by a government veterinary officer from the country of origin.s
“As biotechnology has developed in recent years, AFCD conducted a risk assessment earlier on and considered that the quarantine period for cats and dogs imported from certain Group III places could be shortened by measures such as rabies vaccination and rabies neutralising antibody titer tests,” the department said.

“The new arrangement aims to optimise the quarantine requirements for importing cats and dogs, helping pet owners bring cats and dogs to Hong Kong,” it added.

Under the new arrangement, countries or places that do not meet the requirements to be included in Group II but have satisfactory regulation of veterinary services and official controls on health certification and quarantine arrangements will be categorised as Group IIIA.

Meanwhile, the original Group III will be renamed as Group IIIB. Since the incubation period of rabies can be up to several months, the quarantine period for importing cats and dogs from Group IIIB countries/places will remain no less than 120 days.