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New Zealand

It is allowed to bring cats (felis catis) and dogs (canis familiaris) to New Zealand except for the following dog breeds: American Pit Bull Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Japanese Tosa and Brazilian Fila.

The animals must have been resident in a specified exporting country (e.g. Germany) for 6 months prior to export, and the animals must not have been resident in official quarantine premises in the 60 days immediately prior to export. At the date of shipment the animals must not be pregnant more than 42 days and at departure. animals must be more than 9 months old.

For matching the import guidelines the following steps have to be followed:

  • The animal is identified with a microchip (ISO standard, if another microchip is used the importer has to make available a reader to identify the animal on arrival).
  • The animal has been vaccinated against rabies with a government approved inactivated virus vaccine or recombinant vaccine expressing the rabies virus glycoprotein
    • in the case of a primary vaccination, the vaccine was given not less than six months and not more than one year prior to the date of shipment, when the animal was at least three months old. A copy of the vaccine certificate is required;
    • if a booster vaccination, the vaccine was given not more than one year prior to the date of shipment. A copy of the most recent and previous vaccination certificate is required. (NOTE: rabies vaccination must be kept up-to-date from the date of sample collection for the rabies titre test to the date of shipment)
  • The animal has been subjected to a rabies antibody test (as prescribed in the OIE Terrestrial Manual) on a sample collected not less than three months and not more than 24 months prior to the date of shipment, with a result of at least 0.5 IU/m
  • At arrival in New Zealand the animal shall be held for a minimum period of 10 days in a transitional facility.
  • From 1 January 2012, cats and dogs from the UK, Malta, Republic of Ireland, and Sweden will be required to have a rabies vaccination and rabies titre test prior to entry into New Zealand.

Detailed information and import submission forms:
http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/enter/animals[...]