Currently over a million people have fled from Ukraine, some with their dogs to escape the Russian invasion of their country. This is proving to be one of the largest humanitarian crises of this century. Countries like Poland have opened their borders to fleeing refugees and their dogs without requiring veterinarian documentation. However, if these homeless refugees with their dogs have family in the United States, they cannot get to the U.S with their dogs because of strict requirements currently in place by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). These requirements are:

1.) Proof of rabies vaccination 2.) Be microchipped and 3.)  Have a rabies serologic blood test done (rabies titers).

These requirements are only for dogs coming from countries the U.S considers "high risk" for rabies transmission. Ukraine is currently on that list. This may at first appear to be a reasonable expectation. However, these strict requirements were only put in place very recently by the CDC on December 1, 2021 (see here), in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pet adoptions surged during the pandemic, and many people imported dogs from many countries considered as high risk for rabies. In June 2021, one rabid dog was imported from Azerbaijan, prompting a public health response involving agencies in nine states. For the CDC, that one incident was enough and the aforementioned new requirements went into effect on December 1, 2021. 

However, I am asking that you sign this petition to temporarily drop these requirements for companion dogs coming with their owners from ravaged Ukraine. These requirements were not in effect prior to December 1, 2021 (see here for more info) and the petition writer believes it is unreasonable to expect 2 of the 3 requirements at this time.  While refugees probably can and ought to be required to get their dog's a rabies booster before leaving Ukraine or upon arrival to an open border country like Poland. The two requirements this petition takes issue with given the current crisis are:  2.) Be microchipped and 3.)  Have a rabies serologic blood test done (rabies titers).

This is why I believe these two (2) requirements are not reasonable and should temporarily be dropped by the CDC.  

 1.)  Requiring refugees to microchip their dog doesn't make much sense. The chip is useless unless it is registered, and these refugees have nowhere to register the chip. Many have lost their homes, possibly forever.  

2.) There is only one (1) lab in the countries the Ukrainians are fleeing to that performs rabies titer testing (see here). In order for Ukrainians to get to the U.S, they will have to navigate this process in a land where they do not speak the language to get this one lab to perform rabies titer testing on their dog before they can come to the U.S to be with their family even if they receive a rabies booster. 

This petition writer has heard anecdotal accounts of people abandoning their dogs in Ukraine or Poland due to these difficult-to-meet requirements during this time of intensity. 

And again, and most importantly - the 2 requirements this petition is seeking to temporarily drop were only very recently enacted. It is not unreasonable to ask the CDC to go back to the rules prior to December 1st, 2021 for at the very least - people with Ukrainian passports. 

This petition has been shared with the animal imports consortium of the CDC.