Bringing rabbits into Sweden

• The animals must have been born in captivity and kept in captivity since birth.
• If your animals are not travelling with you (the owner), but with someone else acting as an agent (also called an authorised person), that person must have a written authorisation from you where you state that the animals are not being transported to be sold or transferred to someone else, and that the person travelling with the animals has the right to do so on your behalf.
• You or your agent may bring the animal in at any border crossing.

• The animals must have been born in captivity and kept in captivity since birth.
• If your animals are not travelling with you (the owner), but with someone else acting as an agent (also called an authorised person), that person must have a written authorisation from you where you state that the rabbit is not being transported to be sold or transferred to someone else, and that the person travelling with the animal has the right to do so on your behalf.
• You or your agent must bring the animals in via an approved Entry Point into the EU. This refers to specifically designated travellers’ points of entry for pets, where the identities of the animals and the accompanying documents can be checked. The animal must be brought in via an Entry Point in the EU Member State to which it first arrives.

In Sweden, the airports Stockholm Arlanda and Göteborg Landvetter are Entry Points.

If you travel directly to Sweden with your rabbit, they are to be controlled by the Swedish Customs at one of these Entry Points.

Bear in mind that if you are bringing in rabbits via another EU Member State, you need to find out what rules apply there when bringing in a rabbit, and find out where the Entry Points in that country are.

• Entry Points in the EU

1. The dispatching and receiving establishments must be registered establishments

The dispatching establishment is to be registered in the EU Member State of dispatch. You can tell whether the establishment is registered if there is a registration number specified on the self-declaration. Read more about self-declarations in point 4.

You can register your establishment in our e‑service.

• E-service: The establishment register – places with animals – in Swedish

2. Requirements of the transport

Requirements on the means of transport or container

The requirements on the means of transport or on the container apply only in these cases:

• The animals are to be sold or otherwise change owner.
• The animals are being transported without being accompanied by the owner or any agent of the owner.
• The animals are travelling more than 5 days before or after their owner.

If none of these conditions apply in your situation, that means that the requirements on the means of transport and the container do not apply – even if more than 5 animals are being taken into Sweden at the same time.

The transporter shall ensure that the means of transport or the containers used for the transport are such that the animals cannot escape or fall out. It must also be possible to see into the space or the container in which the animals are kept during transport, and these must be designed to prevent or minimise the spread of animal excrement, litter or feed.

The means of transport shall be cleaned and disinfected as soon as possible after each transport of animals, and dried off or let to dry before new animals are loaded. This is not necessary if the animals have been transported in a container, and if the means of transport has not come into contact with the animals or their excrement.

If the animals are transported in a container, only animals of the same species, category and type, as well as with the same health status, may be transported in the same container. That is to say that animals from different establishment may not be grouped together and transported in the same container. You may also not transport animals of different species in the same container. If containers are used, they must either be disposable containers which are destroyed after use, or they must be cleaned and disinfected after use and dried or let dry before any subsequent use. The operators are to take all necessary measures to ensure that the animals are sent directly to their destination.

A transporter’s permit may be required in some cases

Transporters who charge money for transport, and anyone transporting animals as part of a business, must have a transporter’s permit.

• Transporter’s permit to transport animals
  

3. Requirements pertaining to the animal’s health

The animals must have been born in captivity and kept in captivity since birth. The animals must be healthy, and the movement must not compromise the health status of the destination. This means that

• The animals must not show any signs of disease when they are dispatched.
• The animals must come from a registered establishment
  • where there is no abnormal mortality without an established cause of death
  • which is not subject to any restrictions on the movement of rabbits, considering listed diseases and new diseases
  • which are not located in a restriction zone pertaining to listed diseases or new diseases to which rabbits are susceptible.

• The animals may also not have been in contact with any kept terrestrial animals which are subject to any of the aforementioned restrictions, or that have a lower health status than the animals which are to be sent, since birth or for a sufficiently long time considering the transmission and incubation period of the listed or new disease in question.

Listed diseases refer to diseases for which preventive measures are to be taken and which are being combated in the EU. These listed diseases, as well as a list of the species and group of species which pose a significant risk of transmission of these diseases, are provided in a table in the European Commission’s regulations. At present, two diseases are listed for rabbits, namely infections of the bacteria Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella suis and the bacteria which belongs to Mycobacterium tuberculosis -complex (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium caprae och Mycobacterium bovis).

• EU Regulation (EU) No 2018/1882 on the application of certain disease prevention and control rules to categories of listed diseases (eur-lex.europa.eu)

New diseases refer to diseases other than those appearing on this list which meet one of the following criteria:

• The disease is the result of an existing infectious agent that has developed or changed.
• The disease is a known disease which is spreading to a new geographical area, a new species or a new population.
• The disease is diagnosed for the first time in the EU.
• The disease is caused by an unidentified or previously unidentified agent.

In addition, in order for a disease to qualify as a new disease, it needs to pose a risk to human or animal health or to biodiversity, and it needs to be transmissible. There must also be a method to diagnose the disease, and infection control measures, which are proportionate to the risk entailed by the disease, must be able to have an effect on the disease.

4. A self-declaration must accompany the animals

The operator at the place of origin shall issue a self-declaration stating all of the following:

• Place of origin including registration number and place of destination (i.e. the registered establishments sending and receiving animals respectively)
• Means of transport and transporter
• Description of the species, category and number of animals
• Identification of the animals if the animals are identified
• That the animals meet the health requirements, that is to say:
  • the animals did not show any symptoms of disease at the time of dispatch
  • the establishment from which the animals are coming is registered
  • that there has been no abnormal mortality without an established cause of death
  • the dispatching establishment is not subject to any restrictions due to any disease to which rabbits are susceptible
  • the animals which are being moved have not been in contact with any animals that are subject to restrictions to due to any disease to which rabbits are susceptible, or have a lower health status than the animals being moved
  • the animals are being transported directly to their destination
  • the animals are to be transported in a means of transport and/or container which are designed so that the animals cannot escape or fall out, so that the animal’s feed and excrement are not spilled, so that it is possible to see into the container and that they have been cleaned and disinfected or that disposable containers are used.

There is not currently a template for this self-declaration, but self-declarations must include the aforementioned and shall be signed by the operator at the place of origin.

This self-declaration shall accompany the animals and must be presented if requested at a control. You, as the recipient, must check the self-declaration when you receive the animals.

A health certificate or a notification through Traces is not required.

5. Responsibilities after arrival

If you accept rabbits at an establishment which requires a registration for kept terrestrial animals, you must control on arrival that there is a self-declaration and that the animals meet the requirements according to this self-declaration.

If, after checking the animals and self-declaration, it becomes apparent that there are deviations in the self-declaration or regarding the health or identity of the animals, you must notify the Swedish Board of Agriculture and isolate the animals until we have made a decision on what happens to the animals.

 You are only allowed to bring animals into Sweden from certain countries outside the EU. Contact our disease control unit via e‑mail to find out which countries these are.

• Forflyttning.sparning@jordbruksverket.se