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IMPORTATION OF HORSES INTO THE - UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Before Importation

1. Import permit:

Permission to import must be obtained from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Environment & Water, Animal Wealth Department (MOEW/AWD) before shipment leaves the exporting country.
Equidae could only be imported into UAE from the approved countries for import.
Only Registered horses are accepted from some approved countries and only temporary imports are allowed from others.
In order to obtain an Import Permit: the following documents should be submitted to the UAE MOEW/AWD. (Vet Advisor Office Fax: (00971 4 3361579).

  1. A fully completed Import Permit Application form
  2. Copies of Registration/ Identity papers
  3. Proof of the required vaccinations (usually stated in the passport).
  4. A copy of the required blood tests results.
  5. The receipt of payment of the MOEW fees (currently 100 Dhs /consignment via E-dirham .yellow copy of the receipt).
  6. Arrange the approved post-import quarantine premises (require a letter from the quarantine manager confirming the booking)
  7. Confirmation in writing that the horse box has air conditioning (only required for horses coming by road between 15 May and 15 October).

Application Forms are available from the MOEW Equine Veterinary Advisors Office Tel: (00 971) 4 3361671 or Fax: (00 971) 4 3361579.

Payment of Ministry fees: Animal Wealth Department, M.Floor, MOEW Building, Dubai (beside the clock tower roundabout on the Deira side of the Maktoum Bridge). Telephone: 04 2958161 or Ministry of Environment & Water, Abu Dhabi. Telephone: 00971 2 4495100.

Note: It can take up to 7 days for processing and issuing of Import Permits. Please provide information as early as possible.

2. Health Certificate:

When horses are sent to UAE they must be accompanied by an official Health Certificate issued by a Veterinary Officer approved by the Government Veterinary Service of the exporting country.

The certificate should be in a similar form to, and contain all the information in the Model Certificate for the export of horses to UAE from the country of dispatch.

The certificate must be fully completed, including deletion of those parts that do not apply and must include all dates of tests and vaccinations. A full description of the horse must be provided either by completion of the silhouette or by attaching a passport issued by a recognised national body.

Where horses are not moved directly from the premises of origin (the premises, where they were examined and certified for export), to the Airport of departure, Supplementary Certification must be provided.

The certificates should be typed in Arabic or English and, where Arabic/ English is not understood by the certifying Veterinary Officer, the language of the exporting country. Dates must be inserted and deletions made where appropriate.

Customs charges and Airport handling charges:
The Importer is responsible for completing all the customs paperwork and payment of all charges.

Identification/registration Documents:

The horses should be identified by means of diagram describing signs of the horse, and when there is no identification document, the certifying vet in the country of dispatch should draw a describing diagram and attach it to the health certificate in the time of issue. Registered means that the horse has a proper Identity Document e.g. Passport or Vaccination/ Identity Document or Registration Certificate giving a full description of the horse , issued and endorsed by a recognized Breed Society, Racing Authority or Equestrian Federation

Vaccinations:

The horses might be required to be fully vaccinated against certain disease(s) carried out within specific period of time prior to export; the vaccination should be stated in the identification document of the horses.

Laboratory Tests:

Horses may be subjected to certain blood tests, carried out on samples collected within certain period of time prior to export. The required tests should be carried out in an approved laboratory for that purpose by the Competent Authority of the country of dispatch. For the Middle East countries, the test should be done either the in CVRL in Dubai or an EU approved laboratory.

Pre-export supervision or quarantine:

The horses may be asked:
Either: to be certified that it was kept in premises under veterinary supervision for a period of time immediately prior to export. In this context “Veterinary Supervision” is taken to mean that a Veterinary Surgeon visited the premises within 7 days prior to the start of the 15 day supervision period and at least every 7 days thereafter, until the time of export, and during these visits, the Veterinary Surgeons concerned were able to satisfy themselves that there were no signs of infectious or contagious disease which might affect equines, on the premises.

Or: to undergo a pre-export quarantine period in the country of dispatch in an approved quarantine centre.

Transportation

The horses should be transported in a way that grantees the health and welfare of the horses.
If imported by air the horses should be transported according to IATA regulations for transportation of live animals.

If imported by road, the horses in the truck should face forward and backward. The truck should be designed for transportation of horses with no sharp objects which may hurt the horses, equipped with watering and feeding facilities, there should be easy access to check the horses and deal with any problem during transportation, good ventilation and an air-condition system if mean to be used for transporting horses between 15 May and 15 October (summer time).

Import of horses by sea is prohibited.

The mean of transportation should be cleansed and disinfected in advance, with a disinfectant officially recognised in the country of dispatch, and designed in a way that droppings, litter or fodder cannot escape during transportation.

Shipping agents:

Unless you are an experienced importer, we strongly recommend that you obtain the services of a shipping agent who is familiar with UAE import requirements and export procedures in the exporting country.
The shipping agencies known to have good experience in transportation of horses are:
  1. Equitrans (Tel. 009714 3211157).
  2. Gallop Masters (Tel. 009714 3326662).
  3. Me-freight (U-freight) (Tel. 009714 3350666).

After importation

Post-import quarantine period:

On arrival in the UAE the horses will be subjected to an isolation period in an officially approved Isolation Centre and will be subjected to further tests at the discretion of the Ministry of Environment & Water. Should the horse fail any of the tests, or fail to comply with the conditions of import, including failure to provide proper certification it may be required to be re-exported at the owner’s expense or destroyed.

The post-import isolation will be as follows:

Permanent imports : minimum 6 days, during this period the horses will be inspected daily for any signs of a disease and samples will be taken as required and send to the laboratory.

The horses will be released only when the Ministry vets are satisfied that the horses are free from any infectious or contagious disease.

Temporary imports: the horses will be held in the isolation centre as far as they will be staying in UAE. They will be checked in a weekly basis they may be sampled for certain diseases. The horses will only be released from the quarantine premises for the purpose they were imported for and for a period of time specified by the Ministry Vets and under the conditions that the horses will not come in contact with any other horses except during competition or cultural events.

At the end of the import period the horses will be certified to be exported either to the country of dispatch as return horses or to any other country according to the conditions agreed upon.

Laboratory Tests:

Horses may be subjected to certain blood tests, carried out on samples collected within 48 hours after import. The required tests should be carried out in an approved laboratory for that purpose by the MOEW UAE, e.g. (CVRL) in Dubai.

Should the horse fails any of the tests, or fails to comply with the conditions of import or has incomplete health certificates it may be required to be re-exported at the owner’s expense, or destroyed .

Approved points for entry:

The import of horses is allowed only through the approved points of entry:
  1. Abu Dhabi International Airport
  2. Dubai International Airport
  3. Sharjah International Airport
  4. Gwaifat (Emirates-Saudi border)
  5. Maziad (Emirates-Omani border)

The horses will be moved directly from the point of entry to the quarantine and should not come in contact with any other Equidae before releasing from the quarantine.

Approve quarantines:

  1. Dubai World Cup Quarantine (contact The Veterinary Adviser’s (VA) Office 04 3361671)
  2. Sharjah Equestrian Club Quarantine
  3. Abu Dhabi Airport Quarantine

Approved Disinfectants for disinfecting Equine premises, equipments, vehicles etc:

  1. Verkon-S

Approved laboratories for testing Equine diseases in UAE:

1. Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL).

Approved Countries for Import of Equidae to UAE:

ARAB COUNTRIES
  Country Permanent Temporary Transit Remarks
1 Oman √ √ √ (1)
2 Saudi Arabia √ √ √ (1)
3 Qatar √ √ √ (1)
4 Bahrain √ √ √ (1)
5 Kuwait √ √ √ (1)
6 Jordan √ √ √ (1)
7 Lebanon √ √ √ (1)
8 Syria √ √ √ (1)
9 Egypt √ √ √ (1) (3)
10 Tunisia √ √ √ (1)
11 Morocco √ √ √ (1)
ASIA
12 Japan √ √ √ (1)
13 Hong Kong √ √ √ (1)
14 Macau   √ √ (1) (2)
15 Malaysia   √ √ (1) (2)
16 Singapore √ √ √ (1)
17 India √ √ √ (1) (8)
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
18 Australia √ √ √  
19 New Zealand √ √ √  
EU & NON EU EUROPEANS
20 Austria √ √ v  
21 Belgium √ √ √  
22 Malta √ √ √  
23 Denmark √ √ √  
24 Estonia √ √ √  
25 France √ √ √  
26 Finland √ √ √  
27 Germany √ √ √  
28 Greece √ √ √  
29 Cyprus √ √ √  
30 Ireland √ √ √  
31 Italy √ √ √  
32 Luxembourg √ √ √  
33 Netherlands √ √ √  
34 Portugal √ √ √  
35 Spain √ √ √  
36 Sweden √ √ √  
37 United kingdom √ √ √  
38 Slovakia √ √ √  
39 Hungary √ √ √  
40 Poland √ √ √  
41 Latvia √ √ √  
42 Lithuania √ √ √  
43 Czech Republic √ √ √  
44 Slovenia √ √ √  
45 Norway √ √ √  
46 Iceland √ √ √  
47 Switzerland √ √ √  
48 Greenland √ √ √  
49 Turkey   √ √ (2)(7)
50 Russia √ √ √ (4)
NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA
51 Canada √ √ √  
52 USA √ √ √  
53 Argentina √ √ √  
54 Brazil √ √ √ (5)
55 Chile √ √ √  
56 Uruguay √ √ √  
57 Peru √ √ √ (6)

Transit is allowed in Addition to these countries mention above form the following:

  1. Thailand : ( Bangkok ).
  2. Colombia : ( Bogotà ).

Notes

  1. Registered horse means any horses entered or eligible for entry into a studbook or register approved in accordance with local authorities. Registered horses must be identified by means of an identification document/passport issued by the breeding authority or any other competent authority of the country where the animal originated and which manages the studbook or register for that breed of animal OR any international association or organization which manages horses for competition or racing.
  2. Limited to re-entry of registered horses into the UAE after being temporarily exported for less than 30 days, and temporary entry into the UAE of registered horses for a period of not more than 30 days
  3. Governorates of Alexandria, Beheira, Kafr El Sheikh, Damietta, Dakahlia, Port-Said, Sharkia,Gharbia, Menoufia, Kalioubia, Ishmailia, North Sinai, SouthSinai, Cairo (asGreater Cairo including Giza-town), Suez, MarsaMartrouh,Fayoum, Giza and Beni Suef
  4. the provinces of . Kaliningrad, . Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Murmansk,Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, Briansk, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Tver, Kaluga,Kostroma, Moskva, Orjol, Riasan, Smolensk, Tula, Jaroslavl, Nijninovgorod,Kirov, Belgorod, Voroneg, Kursk, Lipezk, Tambov, Astrahan, Volgograd,Penza, Saratov, Uljanovsk, Rostov, Orenburg, Perm and Kurgan — the regionsof Stavropol and Krasnodar — the republicsof Karelia, Marij-El, Mordovia, Chuvachia, Kalmykia, Tatarstan,Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Severnaya Osetia, Ingushetia andKarachaevo-Cherkesia.
  5. States of: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paran?, S?o Paulo, Mato Grossodo Sul, Goi?s, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Esp?rito Santo,Rond?nia and Mato Grosso
  6. Region of Lima
  7. Provincesof Ankara, Edirne, Istanbul, Izmir, Kirklareli and Tekirdag.
  8. Import of registered thoroughbreds in training from the controlled racehorses population.

For more information about import conditions from approved countries refer to the model health certificates.