Pet travel has become more and more common these days. Nevertheless, bringing your furry friends from a foreign country can still be testing and troublesome. Fortunately, things may change for the better as a new regulation has come out with more convenience granted to pet owners.
Released by the General Administration of Customs earlier this month, the regulation simplifies some of the procedures, while maintaining some ground rules. For instance, customs currently only accept the import of cats and dogs (sorry, rabbit or snake lovers). In addition, each person can only bring one pet, which has been implanted with a microchip, and should possess valid animal quarantine and rabies vaccination certificates. The certificates must be issued less than 14 days before entry.
READ MORE: How to Register Your Dog in Shanghai
Image via Pixabay
Compared with former regulations, the largest change would be the requirement of quarantine. Formerly, all pets applying for entry needed to be quarantined for 30 days (aside from guide dogs and detection dogs). But now, you and your pet friends will be free of the hassle, as long as one of the following conditions is met:
A) They are from designated countries and regions, which include New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Guam, Jamaica, Iceland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Macau, China.
B) They possess a rabies antibody test report issued by certain laboratories trusted by the Chinese customs.
Image via Pixabay
It is noteworthy that if your beloved pet fails to satisfy any of the conditions and has to take the 30-day quarantine, it can only enter China through certain borders. In Shanghai, the qualified borders are as follows, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Railway Station, Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal and Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal.
The new regulation will officially take effect on May 1 of this year.
READ MORE: The Ultimate Guide to Veterinary Clinics and Pet Hospitals in Shanghai
[Cover image via Pixabay]
