The Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Pet Animal Care Facility Program will hold a stakeholder meeting from 10:00 a.m. -12:00 noon January 16, 2019, to discuss future regulation regarding the importation of pet animals into Colorado. The meeting will be held at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, 305 Interlocken Parkway, Broomfield, CO.
Over the last few years PACFA has seen an increasing number of complaints regarding pet animals imported into Colorado from neighboring states. While the importation itself is not the concern, the number of animals coming in with contagious diseases or parasites that can infect not only their own species, but humans as well, is a concern. The department says that they have received numerous complaints about animals being sold or adopted with diseases or parasites like heartworm, ticks, parvo, distemper and canine brucellosis.
The Dept. of Agriculture says that upon entry, many animals get minimal veterinary treatment or examination and often lack accurate veterinary documentation. Because many of these sick pets are quickly adopted or sold, it can cause financial and emotional burden to the adopting consumers, who think they are getting a healthy pet and instead get a sick animal and overwhelming vet bills.
The purpose of the stakeholder meeting is to see if the problem might be addressed through new regulatory efforts. Those efforts might include establishing an isolation period for pets imported to Colorado by a licensed facility, requiring a certification examination by a Colorado vet prior to sale or adoption, or requiring vaccination of dogs prior to their arrival in the state.
Those interested in attending should RSVP to the PACFA Program Staff at cda_pacfa@state.co.us. The full stakeholder meeting agenda can be viewed at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/aginspection/pacfa
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