TRAVELLING TO ESTONIA WITH A DOG Rules and regulations for bringing a dog into Estonia

  1. Dogs with cropped ears and/or docked tail are allowed.
  2. Neutered dogs are allowed to participate in this competition.
  3. The competition is subject to the Estonian Animal Protection Act.
  4. Requirements for travelling into Estonia with a dog are regulated by the Estonian Veterinary and Food Board (Traveling with a pet):
    • dogs from another Member State shall have:
      • a transponder (must comply with ISO standard 11784 and apply HDX or FDX-B technology) or a clearly readable tattoo (applied before July 3rd 2011);
      • the dog must be accompanied by a pet passport complying with Annex III to the Commission implementing regulation (EU) 577/2013 that enables to identify the owner of the pet animal and his/her address and that proves the existence of valid vaccination against rabies. The passport must state the name and contact information of the owner, number of the transponder or the tattoo and rabies vaccination date, used vaccine and validity of the vaccination;
      • Dogs must be vaccinated against rabies. Anti-rabies vaccination must fulfill the following conditions:
        • Vaccination must be valid and executed at least 21 days prior to arrival to Estonia.
        • the vaccine was administered by an authorised veterinarian;
        • the pet animal was at least 12 weeks old at the date of vaccination;
        • the date of vaccination is stated by an authorised veterinarian or an official veterinarian in section V of the pet passport;
        • the date of vaccination entered to section V of the pet passport took place after implantation of or reading the number of the transponder stated in section III or the date of application and reading of the transponder or tattoo;
        • the validity period of the vaccination starts from establishment of the protective immunity but not later than in 21 days after primary vaccination and remains valid until the date the authorised veterinarian or official veterinarian has stated in section V of the pet passport;
        • a revaccination must be considered a primary vaccination if it was not carried out within the period of validity referred to in the above clause (e) of the previous vaccination;
        • the 21-days waiting period does not apply in case revaccination was executed during the validity period of the previous vaccination;
        • the anti-rabies vaccine used must have a marketing authorisation in the given Member State. Information about vaccines with marketing authorisation can be found here;
    • dogs from non-EU countries and territories. Territories of Member States located separately shall be considered Member States (Denmark: Greenland, Faeroe Islands; Spain: Canary Islands; France: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion; Gibraltar; Portugal: Azores and Madeira Islands). The same conditions apply to pet animals arriving from Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and Vatican. (see. c. II). The dogs shall have:
      • a transponder (must comply with ISO standard 11784 and apply HDX or FDX-B technology) or a clearly readable tattoo (applied before July 3rd 2011);
      • Upon arrival from a non-EU country, the pet animal must be accompanied with a certificate complying with the example in Annex IV part 1 to the Commission implementing regulation (EU) 577/2013 (see also the explanatory notes at the end of the certificate example). The certificate must state details about the owner and the animal, number of the transponder  or tattoo and rabies vaccination date, used vaccine and validity of the vaccination.
      • Dogs must be vaccinated against rabies. Anti-rabies vaccination must fulfill the following conditions:
        • the vaccine was administered by an authorised veterinarian;
        • the pet animal was at least 12 weeks old at the date of the vaccination;
        • the date of vaccination is stated by an authorised veterinarian or an official veterinarian in section II.2 of the certificate;
        • the date of vaccination entered to section II.3 of the certificate took place after the date of implantation or reading the number of the transponder stated in section I.28 or the date of application and reading of the transponder or tattoo;
        • the validity period of the vaccination starts from establishment of the protective immunity but not later than in 21 days after primary vaccination and remains valid until the date the authorised veterinarian or official veterinarian has stated in section II.3 of the certificate;
        • a revaccination must be considered a primary vaccination if it was not carried out within the period of validity referred to in the above clause (e) of the previous vaccination;
        • the 21-days waiting period does not apply in case revaccination was executed during the validity period of the previous vaccination;
        • the anti-rabies vaccine used must have a marketing authorisation;
      • Dogs arriving from third countries not listed in part 2 of Annex II to regulation 577/2013 must, additionally to the anti-rabies vaccination, also have a rabies anti-bodies titre determined in a recognised laboratory. Anti-body titre can be determined starting from 30 days after vaccination. The required titre is 0.5 units/ml or higher. The time between determination of anti-titre and movement must be not less than 3 months. The test must be done in an authorised laboratory.