New Rules Hawaii Pet Quarantine Rules Speeds Up Process

One of the not-so-great things about living in Oahu was the difficulty of bringing pets to Hawaii. The state has extremely strict rules with bringing in pets, mainly to avoid rabies. Actually, most people probably do not know that Hawaii is the only rabies-free state. This was achieved predominantly due to the difficult pet immigration requirements.

Old Hawaii Pet Quarantine Rules

Under the old rules, pets were subject to a 120-day quarantine period. This created problems for people moving into the state on short notice, for the military or for a quick job assignment. Many people were forced to leave their pets on the mainland until they were cleared for direct release.

The old rules also required pets to wait four months following the antibody test and at least 90 days from the last rabies vaccination. This also possibly included animal quarantine for the 120 days at the state facility. This is definitely something you wanted to avoid ion possible.

New Hawaii Pet Quarantine Rules

Under the new guidelines that take effect August 31, 2018, both waiting periods are now cut down to 30 days on Oahu.

Under the 5-day or less program, pets may be released from the airport if all the pre-arrival requirements are met.

This includes:

• Microchip
• OIE-Favn rabies blood test
• Two rabies vaccinations, with the last vaccination administered no more than one year prior to arrival if it was a one-year licensed vaccine, or no more than three years prior to arrival if it was a three-year vaccine. (The two vaccinations may not be administered less than 90 days of each other, and the most recent vaccine must be administered no less than 30 days prior to the pet’s entry into the state).
• 30-day pre-arrival waiting period between labs
• Health certificate from your vet
• Free from parasites
• All paperwork must be in 10 days  prior to the pet’s arrival

These are the new guidelines for Hawaii pet quarantine in Oahu, and the outer islands may have additional requirements. This is good news for pet lovers moving to the island.

If you would like more information on living on Oahu, I am more than happy to help.