Thanks to Gulfnews for this information.

Tough law banning imports of fighting dogs and dangerous canines on the anvil
By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Tougher restrictions on bringing in fighting dogs and other dangerous canines into the UAE are being drawn up.

Government officials have revealed they are set to issue new rules within days.

They have also insisted that reports that the importation of all pets has been banned are inaccurate.

Instead, they have said there are temporary restrictions on bringing in certain types of dogs as they draw up the new regulations.

Officials are also reworking rules to ensure that all dogs imported into the UAE are vaccinated against a wider range of diseases before they arrive.

As reported in Gulf News yesterday, pet shop staff said that since the beginning of this month, no licences to import pet animals were being issued. Some pet shops reported that dogs, cats and other animals were all included in the “ban”.

However, Mohammad Mosa, Director of the animal wealth department at the Ministry of Environment and Water in Dubai, said there was no blanket ban on bringing in all types of pets.

Reports untrue

“This [talk of a ban] is not true. What’s happened is that we’re reviewing our procedures for the importation of dogs,” he said.

“Maybe in two or three days we’ll issue a new regulation. We’re concerned with only certain types of dogs, that’s it.”

He said the bringing in of dogs that were family pets was unaffected by the temporary restrictions.

“Any person or any family that wants to bring their pet, there is no problem, even now,” he said.

“There are certain types of dogs there are some restrictions, but only for the trade. We’ll open it in a couple of days when we issue new regulations.

“There are certain types of dogs that will not be allowed – the types people are using for fighting. This is an animal welfare issue.”

He said the new regulations would ensure that all dogs imported were vaccinated against a wider range of diseases before they arrived in the UAE than was previously the case.

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