Sponsors (12)
The bill strengthens disease prevention and surveillance for imported dogs—reducing public health risk—at the expense of increased compliance requirements, potential out‑of‑pocket costs for importers/carriers, and delays for some international adoptions.
State and local public health and veterinary authorities (state veterinarians, public health agencies) will get timely access to dog import records within 3 days, improving disease surveillance and outbreak response.
People in U.S. communities will face lower risk of zoonotic disease because imported dogs must be vaccinated, tested, and permanently identified before entry.
Taxpayers may bear less of the implementation cost because the Secretary can impose user fees to fund enforcement and program operations.
Importers, transporters, and carriers will face potentially large out‑of‑pocket costs to care for, quarantine, remove, or return noncompliant dogs.
Importers and carriers must comply with new electronic documentation, a centralized database, and permit requirements, creating added administrative and compliance costs.
Families and adopters of internationally adopted dogs could face delays or impediments because of a 6‑month minimum age and transfer restrictions, slowing placements into U.S. homes.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Imposes federal import rules for live dogs requiring pre-travel electronic health documentation, permanent ID, age/permit limits for transfers, a centralized database, and enforcement with fees.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Charles Ernest Grassley · Last progress May 13, 2025
Creates a new federal import regime for live dogs that requires electronic pre-travel health documentation, permanent identification, and specific age/permit rules for dogs intended for transfer. It lists narrow exceptions (personal returns, military/working dogs, research dogs, certain veterinary-treatment cases, and a limited Hawaii exception), and gives the Secretary of Agriculture 18 months to write detailed implementing regulations in coordination with other federal agencies. The law requires a centralized database and reporting, allows user fees to fund the program, and authorizes enforcement tools including denial of entry, quarantine, forfeiture, cost recovery, and removal at the importer’s expense. Existing Animal Welfare Act import rules stay in effect until the new regulations are finalized, and a prior Animal Welfare Act import provision is repealed once the new rules are in place.