revision of the veterinary conditions for the importation of dogs cats the agri-food veterinary authority of singapore ava has conducted a risk assessment on rabies risks based on individual countrys rabies situation and developments in the control of rabies. all countries would be re-categorized accordingly with varied quarantine requirements. currently only dogs and cats from four countries namely australia new zealand the united kingdom and ireland are exempted from the avas quarantine requirements. dogs and cats from all other countries are required to be vaccinated against rabies upon arrival in singapore and subjected to 30 days quarantine. in the revised import conditions for dogs and cats instead of the current two categories there are now four categories i category a countries traditionally free from rabies ii category b countries with negligible risk of rabies iii category c countries with controlled risk or with low incidence of rabies and iv category d other countries . there will be no quarantine requirements for countries listed in categories a and b although countries listed in category b countries will need to fulfill pre-export residency and rabies vaccination and testing requirements. for countries in category c three options are available and the quarantine period will either be reduced to 10 days or remain at 30 days depending on the option chosen. for countries listed in category d the quarantine period remains at 30 days and the dog cat will be vaccinated against rabies upon arrival in singapore. the avas re-categorization of the rabies-status of countries and consequent changes to quarantine requirements are implemented to facilitate the movement of pets belonging to travellers and persons relocating to singapore and facilitate the clearance of commercial imports of dogs and cats. the ava would like to invite all interested parties to submit their applications to ava for assessment and categorization re-categorization into the new categories. the assessment would take into account the prevalence and incidence of rabies in animals and humans in the country in the past five years the veterinary infrastructure of the country and its animal health regulations with respect to rabies e.g. contingency plans control programmes import policy etc. some countries regions have already been categorized based on their submissions to the risk assessment questionnaire earlier please refer to the notified document . countries which do not submit a request for risk assessment and categorization will automatically be placed under category d.