Importing frozen canine semen from approved countries

• Contact the competent authority in the country of export to find out:
  • which veterinarians are approved to collect the canine semen and which laboratories are approved to test the blood samples collected from the donor dog
  • if the country of export has any requirements in addition to those stated on this webpage and in BICON.
  • if the country of export has an agreed veterinary health certificate to use in place of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry standard veterinary health certificate.
• The department recommends that you take this information to your Government Approved Veterinarian or canine semen transport agent to help you understand the requirements.

• Frozen canine semen can only be imported to Australia from a department approved country.
• Donor dogs must have been continuously resident in an approved country and not be under quarantine restriction during and between the first and last semen collections.
• Semen from domestic/non-domestic animal hybrids (e.g. wolf-dog crosses) are not eligible for import. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Czechoslovakian wolfdog or Czechoslovakian Vlcak
  • Saarloos wolfdog or Saarloos wolfhound
  • Lupo Italiano or Italian wolfdog
  • Kunming wolfdog or Kunming dog.

You can contact the Listings and Threat Abatement Section of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water for more information on hybrid animals and reproductive material/specimens.

• In accordance with the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956, the following pure breeds, and/or their reproductive material cannot be imported to Australia.
  • dogo Argentino
  • fila Brasileiro
  • Japanese tosa
  • American pit bull terrier or pit bull terrier
  • Perro de Presa Canario or Presa Canario.

You can contact the Department of Home Affairs on +61 2 6264 1111 or 131 881 (within Australia) for more information on prohibited dog breeds.

• Donor dogs must be identified by a microchip.
• A Government Approved Veterinarian or Official Government Veterinarian must scan the microchip at each veterinary visit and semen collection and check that the scanned microchip number is correctly recorded on all semen straws/cryovials and documentation.
• If the microchip is recorded incorrectly on the semen straws/cryovials or the donor dog's documentation, the canine semen cannot be imported to Australia.
• Microchip numbers starting with 999 are not acceptable because they are not unique.

Donor dogs may be vaccinated against Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola as an alternative to the testing outlined under Step 10.

If you choose to do this, dogs must be fully vaccinated against Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola, according to manufacturer’s recommendations, at least 14 days before the first semen collection. The vaccination must be valid at the time of the last semen collection for the export consignment. Most Leptospira vaccines require an initial course of two vaccines 2-4 weeks apart followed by yearly boosters.

• Donor dogs must be examined by a Government Approved Veterinarian or Official Government Veterinarian and found to be healthy and free from infectious or contagious diseases (including venereally transmitted diseases) on each day of semen collection.
• A Government Approved Veterinarian or Official Government Veterinarian must conduct all semen collections.
• The semen must be processed in either straw or pellet (stored in a cryovial) form and be packaged and clearly labelled with the:
  • dog’s microchip number
  • species and breed
  • date of semen collection.

In the case of pellets, the cryovials must be suitable for maintaining the product’s integrity during storage and transport.

• A Government Approved Veterinarian or an Official Government Veterinarian must supervise the storage of canine semen from collection until the shipping container is sealed for export.
• The canine semen must be stored (from the date of collection) in shipping containers that:
  • contain no other biological material than canine semen of equivalent health status
  • are filled with new liquid nitrogen only
  • are new or have been emptied (any loose straws/cryovials removed) and disinfected with 2% available chlorine or Virkon at the manufacturer’s recommended rate, or irradiated at 50Kgray.
• The shipping container must be sealed with an official government seal and the Official Government Veterinarian must record the official seal number on the veterinary health certificate.

The dog must be examined by a Government Approved Veterinarian or Official Government Veterinarian and found to be healthy and free from infectious or contagious diseases (including venereally transmitted diseases) within 30-45 days after the last semen collection for the export consignment.

• A Government Approved Veterinarian or Official Government Veterinarian must take a blood sample from the donor dog 30-45 days after the last semen collection for the export consignment and test it for Brucella canis using a rapid slide agglutination test (RSAT), a tube agglutination test (TAT) or an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) .
• The test must produce a negative result.

• A Government Approved Veterinarian or Official Government Veterinarian must take a blood sample from the donor dog 30-45 days after the last semen collection for the export consignment and test it for Leishmania infantum using either an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) or an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
• The test must produce a negative result.

Please read Step 4 - this step only applies if the donor dog has not been vaccinated against Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola.

• A Government Approved Veterinarian or Official Government Veterinarian must take a blood sample from the donor dog 30-45 days after the last semen collection for the export consignment and test it for Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola using a microscopic agglutination test (MAT).
• The test must produce a negative result (less than 50% agglutination) at a serum dilution of 1:100.

Important: It is your responsibility to ensure you are using the correct and most contemporary version of the veterinary health certificate. To ensure this is the case, the department strongly recommends that you download the latest version prior to each shipment.

• A veterinary health certificate completed, signed and stamped by an Official Government Veterinarian in the country of export, must accompany the frozen canine semen to Australia.
• A separate veterinary health certificate must be completed for each donor dog.
• Any corrections made to the veterinary health certificate must be struck through, remain legible and be signed and stamped by an Official Government Veterinarian (correction fluid must not be used).
• The following documents must also accompany the canine semen on arrival in Australia. Copies can be used, but they must bear the original signature of an Official Government Veterinarian and stamp of the Competent Authority on every page :
  • Brucella canis laboratory report
  • Leishmania infantum laboratory report
  • Leptospira canicola laboratory report (if not vaccinated)
• It is recommended that you also keep a copy of every document.

Notify the department by emailing the department’s regional office in the state/territory in which the consignment will first arrive in Australia, at least three (3) days before it arrives.

General inquiry: 1800 900 090 or + 61 3 8318 6700 (from outside Australia)

For more office locations visit: Office locations

• Your email must include:
  • ​the date and estimated time of arrival
  • the flight number/ship number
  • the airway bill number
  • a contact phone number in Australia.

Consignments of frozen canine semen must be shipped to the Australian person-in-charge/owner/agent care of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry regional office in the Australian state/territory of import.

• Consignments must not be sent to Australia by international mail.
• Each consignment must be accompanied by a completed veterinary health certificate and copies of any laboratory reports

• The owner/person-in-charge must make an appointment for the inspection of the goods and documentation by the department. The owner/person-in-charge or their nominated agent must be present at the inspection.
• On arrival, the consignment will be subject to biosecurity control where it will remain until a biosecurity officer has completed the physical inspection of the consignment and all required documentation.​
• A biosecurity officer will check the consignment and verify all details match the import conditions and veterinary health certificate.
• If acceptable, the consignment will be released from biosecurity control. If not, the consignment may be subject to treatment, export or destruction or additional documents may be requested.