New CDC travel policies for canines could cause problems for dogsled teams

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Starting Aug. 1, dogs entering the United States must meet new regulations as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aims to reduce the potential spread of rabies.

“Dogs entering or returning to the United States must meet new, specific requirements depending on where they have been in the 6 months before entering the U.S. and where they received their rabies vaccines (if required),” the CDC website said.

Travelers coming to the U.S. can find a full breakdown on the CDC website with instructions on what requirements must be met before dogs cross the border — including but not limited to — dogs being microchipped and being up-to-date on rabies shots. These requirements are for all dogs, including service animals, and puppies.

These new procedures have some in the mushing community concerned about what impact this could have on sled dog racing in Alaska.

“We do want high-quality dog care. So it’s not that we’re against its care system,” handler Ryan Schmitt with Redington Mushing said. “We have different unique situations here with our lands and border crossings.”

According to Schmitt, these new requirements could create additional costs for dog teams traveling to Alaska to compete, in addition to teams choosing to travel to snowier regions such as Canada.

He said it may cause some mushers to debate if the cost is worth the race.

“How much it’s going to cost and how much more it’s going to be,” Schmitt said. “Which is therefore going to hamper some races.”

Schmitt says he is keeping an eye on the changing policies and seeing how it could potentially impact dog teams. He also hopes that a solution can be found.

“I just hope that we can come to some good agreements and at the CDC looks into these different exceptions that Alaska has with our Canadian borders that are slightly different than other areas,” Schmitt said.

Alaska’s News Source reached out to Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race officials for comment on what impact they believe it would have on the 2025 race but have not yet received a response.

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