New quarantine arrangements for imported cats and dogs will be implemented starting from December 1, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department announced today.

The department will introduce Group IIIA for exporting countries/places, the quarantine period for cats and dogs imported from these places will be shortened from the current 120 days to 30 days upon their arrival in Hong Kong, provided that they meet the relevant quarantine requirements.

The Macao Special Administrative Region is the first place to be included in Group IIIA.

The department said it is currently discussing with Mainland authorities the implementation details of including the Mainland in Group IIIA and announcements will be made in due course.

Applicants for importing cats and dogs from Group IIIA countries/places should ensure that the requirements are met and provide relevant proof to the department.

The animals must be implanted with a conforming microchip, accompanied by valid vaccination certificates against rabies and other specified infectious diseases, have a satisfactory rabies neutralising antibody titre test result from a laboratory recognised by the department, and an animal health certificate issued or endorsed by a government veterinary officer of the country/place of export.

The department also noted that as biotechnology has developed in recent years, it conducted a risk assessment earlier on and considered that the quarantine period for cats and dogs imported from certain Group III places could be shortened by measures such as rabies vaccination and rabies neutralising antibody titre tests.

It added that the new arrangement aims to optimise the quarantine requirements for importing cats and dogs, helping pet owners bring cats and dogs to Hong Kong.

Under the new arrangement, the department will approach countries/places that do not meet the requirements to be included in Group II but have satisfactory regulation of veterinary services and official controls on health certification for quarantine arrangements.

Upon reaching agreements, these countries/places will be categorised as Group IIIA to shorten the quarantine period for importing cats and dogs upon their arrival in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the original Group III will be renamed as Group IIIB. Since the incubation period of rabies can be up to several months, the quarantine period for importing cats and dogs from Group IIIB countries/places will remain no less than 120 days.