Prohibition for dogs living in Norway to take part in canine events in Finland lasts until 30th September

- According to the information we have received, the Norwegian Kennel Club still recommends that dogs living in the country should not take part in canine events abroad. We continue the prohibition in Finland until we receive new information from Norway, says Tuula Laitinen, Vice Chair of the Finnish Kennel Club’s Board. The Swedish Kennel Club has not withdrawn its prohibition for Norwegian dogs, either.

The Norwegian Kennel Club announced on 16th September 2019 that due to a serious epidemic in Norway, all trials, competitions and dog shows in Norway have been cancelled until new information regarding the disease is received from Norwegian authorities. Norway does not send any national teams to international championship competitions abroad. The Norwegian Kennel Club also recommends that dog owners in Norway should not attend canine events abroad.

Veterinary authorities in Norway specified its instructions regarding contact between dogs in Norway, upon which the Norwegian Kennel Club decided to allow organization of some trials and competitions in the country as of 17th September 2019.  Further trials and competitions were added to this list on 23rd September 2019. In accordance with authority instructions, all allowed trials and competitions are such where contact between dogs can be restricted.

The Finnish Food Authority said in its announcement, published on 12th September (in Finnish on 6th September), that as a safety precaution, it advises that where possible, owners refrain from bringing dogs from Norway to Finland and vice versa. No similar clustering of dog disease cases in a particular locality or area has been detected in Finland.

The Finnish Food Authority stated in its announcement published on 25th September that according to the Norwegian authority, the number of cases appears to have been declining over the past few days. Thus far, based on the data obtained from background surveys, the disease is not considered to be very contagious from dog to dog. A number of known pathogens have been excluded by research, and for the time being, no clear single cause or connecting background factors have been established for the cases of disease.

The Finnish Food Authority's announcement can be found on the Authority website.

For more information

Tuula Laitinen
Vice Chair of the Finnish Kennel Club's Board
tuula.laitinen@kennelliitto.fi
+358 40 430 3229