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Import Regulations

General Requirements

Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI)

All birds and mammals imported into Minnesota, unless specifically exempted below, must be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) issued by a veterinarian accredited in the state of origin. A copy of the CVI shall be forwarded within seven calendar days to the animal health officials in the state of origin for approval and transmittal.

The CVI shall:

  • State that the animals described are not showing clinical signs of infectious, contagious, or communicable disease and that they meet movement requirements
  • State the number of animals in the shipment
  • State the species, breed, age, and sex of each animal
  • Document official identification for each animal if required
  • Document the address and contact information for the premises of origin and the premises of destination
  • State the results of any tests that are required by the board
  • State the purpose for moving the animals
    • Breeding
    • Feeding
    • Direct to slaughter
    • Other (i.e. exhibition/show)
  • Document a permit number if required
  • Document any additional information required by the board
  • Any addendums or attachments to a CVI shall comply with the CVI Addendum Policy.

Camels, Llamas and Alpacas

All camelids imported into the state must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection.

Cattle and Bison

Includes all animals of the Bos and Bison genus

CVI, except as provided in items 1 to 5:

  1. Originating from a farm of origin that are consigned to a state-federal approved livestock market;
  2. Shipped directly to slaughtering establishments operating under federal inspection;
  3. Moving directly to a slaughter-only handling facility in a manner approved by the Board;
  4. Returning from pasture to the herd of origin in the state under permit; or
  5. Moved in accordance with a board-approved commuter herd agreement.

Federal law requires that the movement identified in 2 above is accompanied by an owner-shipper statement if no certificate of veterinary inspection is issued. Federal law does not require that the official identification numbers of steers or spayed heifers be documented on the owner-shipper statement or certificate of veterinary inspection.

Breeding, rodeo and all cattle for exhibition must be officially identified, except when:

  1. Originating from a farm of origin that are consigned to a state-federal approved livestock auction market;
  2. Moving directly to a slaughtering establishment under federal inspection; and
  3. Moving directly to a slaughter-only handling facility in a manner approved by the Board.

“Breeding cattle” means all cattle except:

  1. Heifers of beef breed less than 18 months of age maintained for feeding purposes;
  2. Bulls under ten months of age maintained for feeding purposes; and
  3. Steers and spayed heifers.

Federal law requires dairy breed spayed heifers, all dairy males born after 03/11/2013, and all cattle/bison entering the state for recreation events or shows to be officially identified.

Cattle returned to Minnesota from pasture

Cattle not under quarantine that are owned by state residents who are not livestock dealers may be returned to the premises of origin from pastures in adjacent states without tests or certificates of veterinary Inspection if a permit is secured from the Board prior to movement. Permits for return from pasture may be issued by the board if the pasture is owned, leased, or operated by the state resident, the pasture is contiguous to state land owned by the applicant, only the applicant’s cattle are in the pasture, and the pasture has been inspected by a representative of the board.

TB test

  1. Rodeo cattle entering the state must be negative to an official tuberculosis test within the previous six months.
  2. Cattle imported into the state for the purposes of breeding rodeo stock must be negative to an official tuberculosis test within the previous six months.
  3. Mexican-origin cattle must be negative to two official tuberculosis tests. The second test must be done by an accredited veterinarian and be performed within 60 days prior to importation.

Import permit

A permit must be obtained from the Board prior to the importation of all breeding cattle, all cattle for exhibition, and all cattle requiring a tuberculosis test, with the following exceptions:

  1. Cattle originating from a farm of origin that are consigned to a state-federal approved livestock market; or
  2. Cattle shipped directly to a slaughter establishment operating under federal inspection or to a slaughter-only handling facility.

Please call 651-296-2942 to get an import permit for incoming cattle or bison.

Information that will be collected and required in order to obtain a free import permit include:

  • Name, address and telephone number for the veterinarian issuing the CVI;
  • The CVI number;
  • Name, address and telephone number for the origin of the cattle; and
  • Name, address and telephone number for the destination of the cattle (destination refers to the physical location the cattle will be residing at and not a business or home address).
  • The Board will also require information on the type of official identification that has been used on the cattle.

Additional requirements

Cattle originating from parts of Michigan, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho must meet additional import requirements. Call us at 651-296-2942 for more information.

Deer and Elk

CVI

Live cervidae imported into Minnesota must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection.

Import permit

A permit must be obtained from the Board prior to the importation of live cervidae into Minnesota.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

Live cervidae must originate from a herd that has been subject to a state, federal, or provincial approved CWD herd certification program and that has reached a status equivalent to level 6 (over 5 years) as specified in Minnesota Rules part 1721.0420.

  1. CWD endemic areas:
    1. Live cervidae may not be imported into the state from a CWD endemic area, as determined by the Board.
    2. Cervidae carcasses may not be imported into the state from a CWD endemic area, as determined by the Board, except for cut and wrapped meat, quarters or other portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached, antlers, hides, teeth, finished taxidermy mounts, and antlers attached to skull caps that are cleaned of all brain tissue.
  2. Live cervidae or cervidae carcasses may not be imported into Minnesota from a herd that is infected with or exposed to CWD.
  3. No importation is allowed from CWD infected or exposed herds or from the following known CWD endemic areas:

Map of chronic wasting disease counties in the United States

  • Arkansas:  Benton, Boone, Carroll, Conway, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Newton, Perry, Pope, Searcy, Van Buren, Washington, Yell.
  • Canada: must have approval from Board veterinarian.
  • Colorado: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Clear Creek, Cheyenne, Delta, Denver, Dolores, Douglas, Eagle, Elbert, El Paso, Garfield, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Jefferson, Kit Carson, Larimer, Logan, Mesa, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Morgan, Park, Phillips, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Routt, San Miguel, Sedgwick, Summit, Teller, Washington, Weld, Yuma.
  • Idaho: Caribou.
  • Illinois: Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, Dupage, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, La Salle, Lake, Lee, Livingston, Marshall, McHenry, Ogle, Putnam, Stephenson, Will, Winnebago, Woodford.
  • Iowa: Allamakee, Clayton, Dubuque, Jackson, Winneshiek.
  • Kansas: Barton, Cheyenne, Clark, Cloud, Cowley, Decatur, Edwards, Ellis, Ford, Gray, Gove, Graham, Greeley, Harper, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kingman, Kiowa, Logan, Meade, Mitchell, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Rawlins, Reno, Republic, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Sedgwick, Scott, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Sumner, Thomas, Trego, Wallace, Wichita.
  • Maryland: Allegany, Garrett, Washington.
  • Michigan: Clinton, Eaton, Ingham, Jackson, Livingston, Shiawassee.
  • Missouri: Adair, Boone, Callaway, Carroll, Chariton, Cole, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Grungy, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Miller, Moniteau, Monroe, Osage, Putnam, Randolph, Schuyler, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Louis, Sullivan, Warren, Washington.
  • Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Powder River.
  • Nebraska: Adams, Antelope, Arthur, Banner, Blaine, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Chase, Cherry, Cheyenne, Clay, Custer, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dundy, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Hooker, Howard, Kearney, Keith, Knox, Kimball, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, McPherson, Merrick, Morrill, Nance, Perkins, Phelps, Platte, Polk, Red Willow, Rock, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Thomas, Valley, Wheeler.
  • New Mexico: Dona Ana, Harding, Otero, Quay, Sierra, Union.
  • North Dakota: Adams, Grant, Hettinger, Morton, Sioux, Stark.
  • Oklahoma: Grant, Kay.
  • Pennsylvania: Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Fulton, Huntingdon, Somerset.
  • South Dakota: Butte, Corson, Custer, Fall River, Lawrence, Pennington, Shannon.
  • Texas: Dallam, El Paso, Hartley, Hudspeth, Moore, Oldham, Potter, Sherman.
  • Utah: Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, San Juan, Sanpete, Summit, Uintah, Utah.
  • Virginia: Clarke, Frederick, Warren, Shenandoah.
  • West Virginia: Berkeley, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan, Pendleton.
  • Wisconsin: Adams, Barron, Burnett, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Lafayette, Marathon, Marquette, Monroe, Ozaukee, Polk, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, Walworth, Washburn, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Wood.
  • Wyoming: All counties are restricted.

Tuberculosis (TB)

All cervidae imported must originate from a TB accredited herd or meet the following requirements:

  1. Originate from a herd that is negative to a whole herd TB test within 365 days prior to the date of movement and,
  2. Animals that are 2 months of age and older must test negative for TB within 90 days prior to the date of movement.

No importation is allowed from TB infected or exposed herds.

Animals moving directly to slaughter at a state or federally-inspected facility are exempt from this requirement.

Dogs and Cats

CVI

Dogs, cats and ferrets must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection, except:

  1. Dogs or cats for research at educational and scientific institutions;
  2. Dogs, cats, or ferrets entering a veterinary facility for treatment, surgery, or diagnostic procedures;
  3. Dogs, cats, or ferrets temporarily entering the state if there is no change of ownership and if the animal will be leaving the state within 30 days; and
  4. Dogs and cats originating from an adjacent state and entering a kennel licensed by the Board if the following conditions are met:
    1. The kennel has a written contract with the city from which the dog or cat originated that specifies the terms under which the kennel accepts and houses stray, abandoned, or impounded animals for the city;
    2. Dogs and cats are held in a nonpublic area until they can be examined by a licensed veterinarian;
    3. A licensed veterinarian examines the dog or cat within 48 hours of entry into the state and records the date and results of the examination in the kennel records;
    4. A dog or cat that shows signs of infectious, contagious, or communicable disease is returned to the state of origin, held in a nonpublic area until released by the veterinarian, or euthanized; and
    5. A dog or cat three months of age or older originating outside the state must be currently vaccinated for rabies before being discharged from the facility.

Contents of CVI

The CVI must state that any dog, cat, or ferret three months of age or older is currently vaccinated for rabies and must list the name of the vaccine and the date it was given.

Rabies vaccination

A dog, cat, or ferret three months of age or older imported into the state must be currently vaccinated for rabies unless they meet all conditions of 4 (1-5) above, or are exempted by the Board based on the written recommendations of a licensed veterinarian who has examined the animal and who has determined that vaccination is contraindicated due to a medical condition.

Signatures for Rabies Vaccination Certificates

Minnesota Rule 1721.0540 Subpart 3 requires rabies vaccination certificates to be signed. The Board considers ink signatures or verifiable digital signatures to be official. Please note, stamping is not an approved signature. Certificates should be signed by the veterinarian who administered or oversaw the administration of the rabies vaccine. However, if that veterinarian is unavailable, any veterinarian within the clinic may interpret a patient record to verify the administration of the vaccine and all other information in the patient record, either in writing or verbally as requested by the client.

Exotic Animals

All mammals and birds imported into the state must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection.

A Minnesota state law (Minnesota Statutes § 346.155) went into effect on January 1, 2005 that prohibits individuals with some exemptions, from purchasing, obtaining, or owning certain exotic animals in Minnesota. The following species are prohibited:

  • All members of the Felidae (cat) family, except domestic cats. This includes, but is not limited to, lions, tigers, cougars, leopards, cheetahs, ocelots and servals;
  • Bears;
  • All nonhuman primates. This includes, but is not limited to, lemurs, monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, marmosets, lorises, and tamarins; and
  • Any hybrid or cross between an animal listed above and a domestic animal, as well as offspring from all subsequent generations of those crosses or hybrids.

People who owned these animals prior to January 1, 2005 may keep them if the animals were registered with their local animal control authority by March 2, 2005 and if the owners comply with certain regulatory standards.

If a registered exotic animals is moved to a new location or transferred to a new owner, local animal control authorities must be notified in writing within 10 days of a change of address or location where the regulated animal is kept. For questions regarding the registration process or the law, please contact the local animal control authority.

For more details refer to the full text of Minnesota Statute § 346.155.

Horses and Other Equidae

CVI

Horses imported into Minnesota must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection that includes official identification and the date of the last negative EIA test, except horses:

  1. Brought into the state for participation in trail rides or exhibitions;
  2. Consigned directly to slaughtering establishments under federal inspection; or,
  3. Entering a veterinary facility for treatment, surgery, or diagnostic procedures.

EIA tests

Horses must be negative to an official test for EIA conducted within 12 months prior to the date of importation, except:

  1. Horses consigned directly to slaughtering establishments under federal inspection; or
  2. Suckling foals accompanying a negative dam.

Horses imported without the required test for EIA

Horses imported without the required negative test for EIA must be quarantined, isolated, and tested for EIA within ten days following notification from the Board. Tests must be conducted at the owner’s expense.

Non-Poultry Bird Species

Non-poultry bird species must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection.

Poultry, Hatching Eggs and Ratites

Slaughter exemption

Poultry and ratites imported into the state that move directly to a state or federally licensed slaughter establishment are exempt from the requirements in this part.

Certificates

All hatching eggs, poultry and ratites must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection, Plan Form VS 9-3 Report of Sale of Eggs, Chicks, and Poults or an equivalent form as approved by the Board.

Import permit

An import permit must be obtained from the Board prior to importation of hatching eggs, poultry or ratites into the state. The application for an annual import permit must be endorsed by the official animal health agency of the state or country of origin and indicate that the requirements of this part have been met. A single move import permit can be obtained by completing and returning the single move request form or by calling 320-231-5170.

Pullorum-typhoid

All hatching eggs, poultry, and ratites imported into Minnesota must:

  1. Originate from a hatchery or breeding flock that is classified pullorum-typhoid clean under the plan; or
  2. Be individually identified with a leg or wing band and be negative to a pullorum-typhoid test conducted within 30 days prior to importation.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae

Chicken hatching eggs, chicks, and chickens from commercial egg-type or meat-type chicken hatcheries or breeding flocks and all turkey hatching eggs, poults, and turkeys imported into the state must:

  1. Originate from a hatchery or breeding flock that is classified Mycoplasma gallisepticum clean and Mycoplasma synoviae clean under the plan; or
  2. Be individually identified with a leg or wing band and be negative to a Mycoplasma gallisepticum and a Mycoplasma synoviae test within 30 days prior to importation.

Salmonella enteritidis

Chicken hatching eggs, chicks, and chickens imported into Minnesota from commercial egg-type chicken hatcheries or breeding flocks must originate from a hatchery or breeding flock that is classified Salmonella enteritidis clean under the plan.

Sanitation monitored

Turkey hatching eggs, poults, and turkeys imported into the state from commercial turkey hatcheries or breeding flocks must originate from a hatchery or breeding flock that meets the requirements of the sanitation monitored program of the plan.

Shipping containers

Only new or cleaned and disinfected poultry boxes or containers shall be used to ship baby poultry into the state.

For questions related to the importation of hatching eggs, poultry, or ratites, please call the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory at 320-231-5170.

Sheep and Goats

CVI

All goats or sheep imported into the state must be accompanied by a CVI except those:

  1. Going directly to slaughter at a slaughtering establishment having federal inspection; or
  2. Originating from a farm of origin in an adjacent state and consigned to a state-federal approved livestock market.

Contents of CVI

If official identification is required, the CVI must show the individual official identification number of each animal except:

  1. Officially identified goats and sheep moving directly to slaughter if the CVI indicates the animals are scrapie-tagged and for slaughter only; or
  2. Officially identified feeder animals that are being moved to a feedlot if the CVI indicates the animals are scrapie-tagged and that the animals are for feeding purposes only.

Official identification

Goats or sheep imported into Minnesota must be officially identified except those less than 18 months of age in slaughter channels that are moving directly to a:

  1. Slaughtering establishment having federal inspection
  2. State-federal approved livestock market. Animals must be slaughtered by 18 months of age.
  3. Board-approved* terminal feedlot. Permit required. Animals must be slaughtered by 18 months of age.

*To find out if a premises is a Board-approved terminal feedlot, please call 651-201-6809.

Swine

CVI and official identification

Swine imported into the state must be officially identified and accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection except for swine:

  1. Which move under an approved swine production system health plan;
  2. Consigned to a state-federal approved livestock market which move directly from a farm of origin; or
  3. Moving directly to slaughter at a slaughtering establishment under federal inspection.

Importation of feral swine prohibited

The importation into the state of feral swine or swine that were feral during any part of their lifetime is prohibited. Importation into the state of feral swine carcasses is prohibited except for cut and wrapped meat, hides, teeth, and finished taxidermy mounts.

Wild Animals

All mammals and birds imported into the state must be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection.

State law does not allow skunks or feral swine to be transported into Minnesota.