BVA welcomes mandatory B. canis testing
Imported dogs must test negative in both Brucella canis tests.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has welcomed the government’s decision to make Brucella canis testing mandatory for dogs imported from Romania.
New rules announced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on 7 October require all commercial imports of dogs from Romania to undergo testing for B. canis. In most circumstances, pet owners travelling with more than five dogs must also follow these rules.
The process will involve an authorised veterinarian from Romania submitting a sample to Great Britain’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) prior to the dog’s import. The sample must test negative in both the Brucella canis ELISA and Brucella canis SAT tests.
The dog can then only enter the country within 30 days of the blood sample being taken. After this point, a new test will be needed.
If the sample tests positive in either test, the dog may not enter the country.
The BVA has described the move as a ‘vital safeguard’ in preventing zoonotic diseases from entering the country for import or rehoming. The organisation has been campaigning for new rules for many years.
It references government data which reports that, since 2020, approximately 50 per cent of identified B. canis cases have originated from Romanian dog imports.
Rob Williams, BVA president, said: “With cases of Brucella canis in the UK rising in recent years as a result of dogs being imported from countries with higher known risk for the disease, BVA has been urgently calling for mandatory pre-import testing.
“With almost half of all B. canis infections identified in the UK being traced to Romanian dog imports, this is a timely and necessary step by Government that will better protect the health of both people and animals.”
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Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.
