Federal oversight of dog imports into the United States has long relied on a patchwork of animal welfare rules that left significant gaps for disease introduction and commercial exploitation of animals overseas. The Healthy Dog Importation Act closes those gaps by requiring importers to submit electronic health, vaccination, and parasite-treatment records to the USDA before a dog is transported to the US — dogs intended for sale or adoption must also be at least 6 months old and carry a federal import permit. Importers and transport companies that violate the rules must pay out of pocket for the animal's care, quarantine, and return. The USDA must write new implementing regulations within 18 months and publish annual reports showing where imported dogs originate and why they are being brought into the country.
Transparency & Accountability
- Import health-certificate database — All dog import veterinary certificates recorded in a centralized federal database, shared with state vets within 3 days on request
- Annual import reporting — USDA required to publish aggregate data on dog country of origin and purpose of import each year
Congressional Summary
Healthy Dog Importation Act This bill expands Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements for the importation of live dogs.Prior to a dog's arrival into the United States, USDA must receive electronic documentation about the dog's health. The documentation must demonstrate that the dog (1) is in good health; (2) has received all necessary vaccinations and parasite treatments and demonstrated negative test results as evidenced by a certificate from a licensed veterinarian; and (3) is officially identified by a permanent method approved by USDA. Additionally, a dog entering the United States for transfer (e.g., for sale, adoption, exchange, or donation) must be at least six months old and accompanied by a USDA permit.USDA must promulgate regulations to, among other things, deny entry of any dog in violation of the new requirements, require USDA to maintain a centralized database of imported dogs, and establish fees for verifying required documentation and issuing transfer permits.USDA must provide an exception to any requirements under the bill for dogs that are transferredas a personal pet of U.S. origin returning to the United States;as a U.S. military working dog;for research purposes;for veterinary treatment under certain conditions, including appropriate quarantining; orfor lawful importation into the state of Hawaii (from the British Isles, Australia, Guam, or New Zealand) if the dog is less than six months old and is not transported out of Hawaii for transfer at less than six months old.USDA also has enforcement authority under the bill.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-05-13
- Date Added
- 2026-06-23
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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