Online portal makes booking pet quarantine space easier

SINAGPORE-A new online portal launched yesterday by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is set to make it far smoother for pet owners to bring their animals into Singapore.

Called the Quarantine Management System, the website allows owners to book space for their pets at the Sembawang Animal Quarantine Station (SAQS) up to six months before arrival. The approval process takes three working days, and if approved, a slot can be confirmed immediately.

The new portal at qms.ava.gov.sg will also be updated in real time, which will tell pet owners how many slots are still available.

Previously, quarantine requests could only be made through mail, fax or e-mail. While such applications could also be submitted up to half a year in advance, the availability of quarantine space could only be confirmed 30 days before a pet's arrival.

Relocation firms that help foreign executives in their move here applauded the initiative for its convenience.

Astro Worldwide Movers chief executive David Pan said the previous 30-day notice was too short and could disrupt travel plans if quarantine space was unavailable.

The portal will also make it easier for Singaporeans returning home with their pets after being overseas.

AVA figures show that more dogs and cats have been quarantined over the last three years - from 986 in 2010 to almost 1,200 in the first 11 months of this year.

Quarantine is necessary to prevent the spread of rabies in Singapore, which has been free of the viral infection for the last 60 years.

It can be transmitted to humans by bites from infected animals and may cause death within weeks.

"We need to maintain vigilance and regulate animal import strictly as the disease is endemic in the region," an AVA spokesman said in a statement, pointing to recent outbreaks of the disease in Taiwan and Chile.

Animals coming in from rabies-free areas such as Hong Kong and Australia do not need quarantine.

But those from places with a controlled risk of the disease, such as the United States and France, have to be quarantined for either 10 or 30 days, depending on criteria such as whether the pet has had extra vaccinations.

For countries where the risk of rabies is higher, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, the quarantine period is 30 days. Owners who fail to arrange for their pet to be quarantined before arrival may risk having it sent back to the country of origin if there is no space at AVA's quarantine facility.

SAQS has 82 dog kennels, each of which can house two to three dogs under a single application. It also has 60 catteries, each with enough space for up to three cats from the same owner.

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