Traveling with your pet is perhaps one of the most difficult things a pet owner can do. It comes with a lot of logistical as well as legal challenges and can take months of paperwork before you are finally granted permission. Not to mention, you then have to find a carrier that will allow you to have your pet on board.
Being one of the most technologically influential cities in the world, Israel has been a growing economy in the Middle East. Besides its economy, it is also seeing a boom in its tourism sector in recent years.
Many of these tourists or visitors, who are there for work purposes, have pets that they would like to have with them while visiting Israel.
However, getting into the country as an outsider along with a dog or a cat, or any other legal pet, is a mammoth task to undertake.
It comes with a lot of challenges and obstacles, many of which can take a lot of time to cross. Even then, here is what you need to know if you want to bring your pet into Israel.
While traveling with your dog or cat, you must know about the country or state laws. What are the essential Requirements to bring Your Pet With You to Israel?
Essential Requirements To Bring Your Pet With You to Israel
See If Your Pet Can Tolerate The Weather
Tel Aviv, Israel has a Mediterranean climate, like most places in the country. It is warm, humid, and enjoys plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with the occasional rainfall.
The temperature usually varies from 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Most months are dry. January is the only month that gets a lot of rain.
Such conditions are not ideal for a lot of pets, like the American Bulldog. Hence, what you can do is consult a weather app like Tomorrow before deciding whether or not to bring your pet.
Using real-time data from the local weather stations, you will get to see tomorrow’s weather forecast in Tel Aviv. Once you have the weather information, like what the humidity is like, what temperatures to expect, etc. you can then know what breed of dogs or cats to bring into Tel Aviv or Israel in general, and which ones to avoid.
Implanting a Microchip
Israeli law states that your pet must be at least four months old before you apply for its entry into Israel. You must also implant a microchip in them.
As weird as it may sound, these microchips are of vital importance. Applied under the skin, each microchip has a unique identification number embedded in it. Linked to the number are the pet owner’s name and contact information.
So suppose your dog gets lost somewhere. The respective authorities can help you guys reunite by identifying the dog as yours through the microchip ID.
While the microchip insertion part may seem weird and downright unnecessary, you cannot deny that it is a brilliant way to keep pets in check, and help owners find them if they ever go missing.
Getting Your Pet Vaccinated Against Rabies
Rabies is a huge problem for dogs and cats, which is why Israel is very strict against its no-rabies policy. Before arriving in Israel, all dogs and cats will require a veterinary certificate confirming that they have been vaccinated against rabies.
However, pets from Japan, Great Britain, Oceania, and Cyprus do not require rabies vaccination.
Read more: How often do Dogs need Rabies vaccine shots?
And you are not done after the vaccination. You need to validate the test results by sending them to an OIE – Office International des Epizooties – approved lab for a titer test.
In case you do not have an OIE-based lab in your country, you have to send it to a country that does have such a lab.
Health Certification
Once you have all your pet’s documents, issued no before than 10 days prior to the pet’s arrival, you will have to submit a health certificate to the Israeli authorities.
A government vet from your country will have to endorse the certificate before you can submit it to the respective authorities.
Permission to Import Your Pet, and Allow It In Israel
Finally, once everything is in order, the Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture will give you permission to bring your pet into Israel.
Certain breeds of dogs, like Rottweiler, Japanese Tosa, and the American Bull Terrier, are banned in Israel.
So you cannot bring these breeds. The pet you bring will fly in as manifest cargo, either via ship or air.
As you can tell, it is quite a complex process if you are looking to bring your pet into Israel. However, as long as you maintain these steps, it should be relatively easy to get all this done.