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Hawaii Pet Information

Hawaii's Animal Quarantine Laws

Hawaii is a rabies free state. Hawaii's quarantine law is designed to protect residents and pets from potentially serious health problems associated with the introduction and spread of rabies. All dogs and cats regardless of age (puppies and kittens included) or purpose, must comply with Hawaii's dog and cat import requirements.

Chapter 4-29 Hawaii Administrative Rules, governs the importation of dogs, cats and other carnivores into Hawaii. This law states that dogs and cats meeting specific pre and post arrival requirements may qualify for 5-days or-less quarantine or direct release at Honolulu International Airport after inspection. Furthermore, the law requires dogs and cats not meeting all of the specific 5-Day-Or-Less program requirements to be quarantined for up to 120 days upon arrival In Hawaii.

Hawaii Resident Pets: Owners wishing to leave Hawaii with their pets, and return without extended quarantine, must meet all requirements listed on the "Checklist Only For Resident Dogs And Cats Originating From Hawaii And Returning For The 5-Day-Or-Less Program". The length of the waiting period after a successful rabies blood test is modified and must be completed before leaving Hawaii.

Direct Release on Neighbor Islands: Pets may now qualify for direct release at Kona Airport (Big Island), Kahului Airport (Maui) and Lihue Airport (Kauai).

Puppies and Kittens: Due to the minimum amount of time needed to prepare a puppy or kitten to meet the requirements of the 5-Day-Or-Less program, a puppy or kitten will be about 10 months of age by the time the preparations are completed. Puppies and kittens not able to meet all of the requirements for the 5-Day-Or-Less program will be quarantined for 120 days.

Prohibited Animals: Non-domestic dogs and cats and hybrids such as wolf, wolf cross, Dingo, Bengal, Savannah, etc are prohibited under Plant Quarantine (PQ) law.

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Plant Quarantine Branch regulates the importation of non-domestic animals (any animal not considered to be domesticated and common in Hawaii). Domesticated animals are those animals bred for the purpose of living near or about the habitations of humans. Examples of domesticated animals include dogs, cats, cattle, swine, poultry and horses. Domesticated animals are regulated by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Animal Industry Division. For example, the following are prohibited from entry or possession by private individuals in the State.

  • Alligators
  • Bulbuls
  • Coconut crabs
  • Electric catfishes
  • Ferrets
  • Gerbils
  • Hamsters
  • Hermit crabs
  • Land snails
  • Lion fishes
  • Lories
  • Monk parakeets
  • Piranhas
  • Snakes
  • Snapping turtles
  • Toucans

Contact PQ with questions at (808) 832-0566 or (808) 837-8413.

Re-Entry Fee Requirements: To qualify for the reduced Re-entry fee for Direct Airport Release or 5-day or-less quarantine, a pet must have:

Qualified for, and been directly released from, the Honolulu International Airport on a previous arrival within the 36 month period that the most recent OIE-FAVN blood test and rabies vaccination used for the previous entry are still valid.

OR

Qualified for and completed either 30-day or 5-day-or less quarantine and was released on the scheduled release date; Then left the State and returned within the 36 month period that the most recent OIE-FAVN blood test and three-year rabies vaccination used for the previous entry are still valid.
AND
The Animal Quarantine Station has received all pertinent rabies vaccination certificates, and forms, notarized AQS-278 Dog & Cat Import Form and blood test results used to qualify the pet for the previous entry.

All of the requirements on the checklist for the 5-day-or-less/direct airport release are completed for each entry into Hawaii.

The Animal Quarantine Station has received the required documents and written notification of the planned subsequent re-entry into Hawaii.

Note: The Re-Entry Fee will not apply for an entry when either the blood test or rabies vaccination is administered again to qualify for the 5-Day-Or-Less program/Airport Release.

IMPORTANT! Pet owners are responsible for transporting all airport released pets from the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility to their vehicles or the Interisland terminal. Airport security regulations do not permit animals to be out of the transport crate on airport property. Pets must be picked up and loaded into a vehicle or onto a baggage cart in their transport crate. Therefore, vehicles must be large enough to accommodate the intact crate with the pet inside. There are no baggage carts or porters in the immediate vicinity of the AAQHF.

Due to limitations in inter-island service on the weekend, pets arriving on Thursday or Friday, may not be transferred to satellite quarantine stations and approved hospitals on the neighbor islands until the following Monday.

OIE-FAVN Test Results

Pets owners do not need to present a hardcopy of test results to the Rabies Quarantine Branch, as KSU and DOD will send results directly if "Hawaii" is listed as the destination on the lab submission form. Owners can obtain pre-arrival OIE- FAVN test results from the veterinarian that submitted the sample or on the Hawaii Department of Agriculture website (see below).
Please do not call laboratories directly for test results!

For those qualifying for the direct release or 5-day-or-less you can now check online for your pre-test results and the 120-day date after KSU or DOD received your pet's sample.

Guide and Service Dogs

THE HONOLULU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON THE ISLAND OF OAHU IS THE ONLY PORT OF ENTRY FOR ALL DOGS AND CATS ENTERING HAWAII. THIS INCLUDES GUIDE DOGS AND SERVICE DOGS.

GUIDE DOGS AND SERVICE DOGS THAT MEET THE FOLLOWING DEFINITIONS CAN COME INTO HAWAII WITHOUT QUARANTINE PROVIDED THEY FOLLOW THE STEPS OUTLINED BELOW.

"Guide dog" means any dog individually trained by a licensed guide dog trainer for guiding a blind person by means of a harness attached to the dog and a rigid handle grasped by the person.

"Service dog" means any dog that is individually and professionally trained to: alert a person with impaired hearing to the presence of people or sounds; assist a person with disabilities involving mobility by pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, or otherwise aiding the user in accomplishing a variety of tasks; alert a person with a seizure disorder to the onset of a seizure or to alert another person or organization at a remote location to the seizure; or alert a person to an impending life-threatening medical crisis and assist in mitigating the consequences of such a crisis; and that belongs to a person with a disability that substantially limits a major life activity.

KEY POINTS FOR QUALIFYING AS A SERVICE DOG OR AN EXEMPTED GUIDE DOG

  • The dog must have current rabies vaccination. (Documentation of the vaccination must include the product name, the lot or serial number, and the expiration date of the lot.)
  • The dog must have a microchip implanted that can be read with an Avid scanner (Avid or Home Again chip).
  • Prior to arrival the dog must have passed one OIE-FAVN tests with a level of 0.5 I.U. rabies antibody or greater. The laboratory will not perform the tests unless the microchip number accompanies the test request form.
  • The dog must have a standard health certificate issued not more than 30 days prior to arrival in Hawaii.
  • For a service dog, there must be a physician's statement which certifies as to the disability, and that the service dog provides assistance having to do with that disability, or a certificate of training as a service dog by a training program accredited by Assistance Dogs International, Inc., or a service dog training program with equally rigorous administrative, operational and training standards.
  • The Rabies Quarantine Branch must receive notification at least 24 hours in advance of arrival information and location where the dog will be staying. Information can be faxed to 808-483-7161 or telephoned to 808-837-8092.
  • On arrival in Hawaii, the dog must be brought by the airline to the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility for verification of compliance with the above requirements and examination of the dog for external parasites. If all is in order, the dog will be released at that point.
  • Qualified Guide dog and Service dog users may request inspection in the terminal at Honolulu International Airport by notifying the Rabies Quarantine Branch 7 days or more before arriving. In these cases, a “Notice of Terminal Inspection” with tracking number will be issued and sent to the user. To avoid confusion and delays, this Notice must be presented to airline representatives upon arrival in Hawaii. After inspection, if all is in order, the dog will be released.

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