Rabies Vaccinations and Pet Imports | ZENOAQ [Nippon Zenyaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.]

Japan is a rabies-free country, the last case having been reported in 1957. As a result it is of paramount interest to quarantine officials, as well as to the Japanese public, that all animals entering the country be "clean".

Unfortunately for Japan there is a growing demand for purebred puppies in the pet market and many businesses are now resorting to imported puppies in order to meet the needs. This of course means that more and more dogs are now being shipped into Japan directly from rabies-infected areas. Mainland China is an area of great concern as more than a thousand deaths occur each year from rabies.

In order to keep the risk of bringing rabies into the country at a minimum, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries is planning to install a new vaccination requirement, a system where a double vaccination will be required for cats and dogs being brought in from non-rabies free areas. This two tier system will require the first rabies vaccine to be given to the animal at the earliest 3 months of age, no earlier, and the second vaccination to be done at least one month after the first. After the double vaccination these animals will be required to be kept in the country of origin for 6 months before actually being shipped into Japan. Obviously, including this final incubation period, the entire process of exporting an animal to Japan would require at least 10 months when this new system comes into place, which then bring us to another hidden and perhaps larger benefit of the measure.

It will no longer be possible to bring in very young puppies and kittens into Japan. The sales of very young animals in pet shops has been a serious issue for all animal welfare groups in the country and should this new vaccination regime come into effect at least one source of young animals will no longer be operative, though this will not put a stop on the sales practices of local puppy mills. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries will also require the animals (dogs and cats) to be microchipped when imported, the information there in including the individual animal's age and birthplace, as well as its vaccination records. The new system and its requirements should be a welcome improvement to the current one and would most certainly change parts of the pet business for the better.

However as mentioned earlier, the transport and sales of very young animals will still continue if domestic laws regulating such practices are not written to address the issue. Furthermore, as the new system will not apply to regions that are free of rabies, its effect will not be as wide reaching as could be hoped for. For example, one of the largest exporters of purebred dogs to Japan is the neighboring island of Taiwan, which obviously will be exempt from the double vaccination scheme. Young purebred puppies will continue to flow into the profitable Japanese market from Taiwan regardless of whether or not the new system is implemented. Though the government is taking a step in the right direction, the media and society as a whole should not be fooled into thinking that this new system is capable of making a major contribution to the various issues surrounding the import of pets into the Japanese market.

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