News Release: September 26, 2002

Hawaii Board of Agriculture Sends Proposed Changes in Animal Quarantine Rules to Public Hearings

Hilo - The Hawaii Board of Agriculture (HBOA) today granted preliminary approval of various amendments to the Animal Quarantine administrative rules, sending the proposed amendments to public hearings.

The major amendments approved to go to public hearings include:

- Establishing a five-day quarantine confinement program that contains a 120-day pre-arrival wait period, as an option to the current 120-day and 30-day quarantine.

- Allowing dogs and cats arriving from Guam to be exempted from rabies quarantine. Guam has implemented a rabies quarantine program that is now consistent with Hawaii's rabies quarantine program.

- Eliminating the currently required post-arrival OIE-FAVN blood test for the rabies antibody.

- Specifically designating Fipronil as a pre-arrival tick treatment.

Public hearings will be scheduled on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and in Hilo and Kona. Hearing dates will be published in advance in newspapers of general circulation.

For more information, please call 973-9560.

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