The rule change shortened the quarantine confinement for pets that meet requirements before they get here, reducing the stay to five days or less rather than the present 30- to 120-day quarantine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
State officials have enforced a quarantine since 1912 to ensure that rabies is not introduced into Hawaii, the only state free of the disease. Till now, the confinement period was reduced only once \u2014 in 1997, when a 30-day option began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The main fear has been that a rabid pet could come in contact with a mongoose or other feral animal, spreading the disease in the wild.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Veterinarian Isaac Maeda, program manager at the state\u2019s rabies quarantine branch, has said a department analysis last year showed that reducing quarantine to five days \u201cdoes not substantially increase the risk of introducing rabies into the state,\u201d as long as the program includes proper rabies vaccination, blood tests and a 120-day waiting period before animals arrive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The five-day quarantine, which goes into effect on June 30, will be a third option for bringing pets to the state. Under the new program, pets that meet state criteria may be released from the airport directly to their owners or stay a maximum of five days at the quarantine station.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
To have a pet released at the airport, an owner would also have to provide documentation 10 days before arrival that the other requirements had been met.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Pet owners hoping for shorter confinement of their animals upon arrival must present proof that their animal has had two rabies vaccinations, microchip implantation for identification and clean results of blood serum tests. Quarantine costs for the reduced confinement program will be $165 if the pet qualifies for direct release from the airport and $224 if the pet must be held for up to five days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
RULES SUMMARY<\/strong>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n To qualify for a five-day pet quarantine, owners must prepare at least four months in advance:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Contact info:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Hawaii Department of Agriculture<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Animal Quarantine Station<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n 99-951 Halawa Valley Street<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Aiea, Hawaii 96701-5602<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Website: www.hawaiiag.org\/hdoa\/ai_aqs_info.htm<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The rule change shortened the quarantine confinement for pets that meet requirements before they get here, reducing the stay to five days or less rather than the present 30- to 120-day quarantine. State officials have enforced a quarantine since 1912 to ensure that rabies is not introduced into Hawaii, the only state free of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":122635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visiting-hawaii"],"yoast_head":"\n