Minister for Agriculture Armands Krauze has sent a letter to European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi, calling on him to consider at least a temporary ban on the commercial import of dogs and cats into the European Union (EU) from Russia and Belarus.
The call follows a rabies case detected in Germany in February involving a dog imported into the EU from Russia. The dog was brought into the EU through a Latvian border control post. Although the animals arrived in Latvia with documents confirming compliance with EU requirements, later rabies antibody titre tests carried out by Latvia’s competent authorities showed that 20% of the samples did not meet the required standards. This raises serious concerns about the reliability of the documents and the effectiveness of animal health controls in the countries of origin, as well as increases the risk of rabies being introduced into the EU. The Ministry of Agriculture has well-founded concerns that these documents are being systematically falsified in Russia and Belarus.
“The EU has invested significant resources in combating rabies, and many Member States have achieved and now maintain rabies-free status, including Latvia. We must not allow these disease control measures to be put at risk due to illegal practices and insufficient controls in Russia and Belarus. If there are doubts about the reliability of the documents or the effectiveness of vaccination, the EU must act quickly and decisively. Indecisive action may have a serious impact on the health and even lives of people and animals in EU Member States. A temporary ban on the commercial import of dogs and cats from Russia and Belarus would be an important precautionary step to protect both animal and public health across the EU,” Minister for Agriculture Armands Krauze emphasised.
At the same time, the Minister calls for a meeting of veterinary experts from EU Member States to be convened in order to assess the current situation and agree on the most effective measures to reduce the risk of rabies spreading in the EU.