Canada's Health Minister says he hopes "logic will prevail" as the U.S. plans to impose new rules for dogs entering the country as of August 1.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first announced the importation requirements on May 8. During a news conference on Wednesday, Minister Mark Holland said concessions have since been made.
While owners will need documentation to prove their dog has been vaccinated for rabies, it will not need to be authenticated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
"That was going to be a massive problem for us administratively," said Holland.
While Holland said he agrees dogs should be vaccinated for rabies, Canada should be exempt from the requirement to provide a vaccine document.
"We are a rabies-free country, and we have a policy environment that's very similar to the American policy environment," he said. "So a dog coming from Chicago or coming from Portland is no more of a risk than a dog coming from Toronto or from Vancouver."
As of August 1, dogs must also have an ISO-compliant or universally readable microchip. A CDC Dog Import Form will also need to be filled out, essentially a photo ID for dogs.
"Just frankly, I don't think this is a good use of border officers' time," Holland said.
He said the new rules took Canada by surprise.
"The Americans adopted this as a blanket policy for all countries," said Holland. "I don't think they thought about what they were creating at the Canadian-U.S. border. So, it came as much as a surprise to us as it did to the U.S. I'll be frank, when I first heard this I thought, 'This can't be serious.'"
Holland said he remains in talks with his U.S. counterparts and is "quite concerned" about the upcoming changes and what it will mean for tourism.
He hopes a grace period of a couple of months will be approved to allow dog owners some leeway come August 1.
