Background
Plaintiffs, a group of animal rescue organizations, challenged a CDC regulation requiring all dogs entering the United States to be at least six months old. The regulation was designed to prevent the reintroduction of rabies and deter fraud involving falsified vaccination records. The district court granted summary judgment to the CDC, and the plaintiffs appealed.
The court’s reasoning
The court analyzed whether the age requirement fell within the CDC’s authority under Section two hundred sixty-four of Title forty-two of the United States Code. The court concluded that the requirement is an inspection measure because it allows officials to ascertain the quality and condition of dogs by confirming they are old enough to have been vaccinated and by making it easier to distinguish rabies symptoms from normal puppy behavior. The court also found the rule was not arbitrary or capricious, as the CDC reasonably considered the risk of fraud and the difficulty of screening young dogs, even when imported from countries previously deemed rabies-free.
The age requirement is an inspection measure. Additionally, we conclude that such measure directly relates to preventing the introduction of rabies into the United States.
Bruno Project Rescue Inc. v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, slip op. at 12 (1st Cir. July 13, 2026)
What it means going forward
The ruling upholds the CDC’s ability to enforce a six-month age minimum for all imported dogs, reinforcing the agency’s authority to use age-based restrictions as a tool for disease prevention and fraud deterrence without needing to prove specific rabies risks in every country of origin.