Pets in Myanmar

Pet owners should assess the animal's health, vaccination record, identification, long-term costs and care arrangements before adoption or purchase. Adoption and foster care are available through Yangon Animal Shelter and local rescue networks, but Myanmar has no verified nationwide register of breeders or pet shops and no uniform national purchase-contract standard. The Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD) is the national veterinary authority involved in animal health, disease control and import or export procedures. Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) provides municipal veterinary services through its Veterinary and Production Department. In Yangon, dogs and cats may require registration, and the municipal system also covers pet-fish or animal-sale licences, vaccination and treatment at committee-owned veterinary clinics, and stray-dog control. An official 2020 report stated that keeping, transporting or selling animals without registration in the Yangon municipal area was prohibited, with reported penalties of K100,000 to K500,000 for a first offence and up to six months' imprisonment for repeat offences. Owners should confirm current forms and enforcement with YCDC or the relevant Township Veterinary and Prevention Office because municipal requirements may change and do not automatically apply throughout Myanmar. Private veterinary clinics provide preventive care, vaccinations, parasite control, diagnosis, surgery, dental care, sterilisation and microchipping. A 2026 official inspection recorded 83 clinics, including 65 focused exclusively on dogs and cats and 18 treating dogs and cats plus some other species. Laboratory and specialist access is much more limited outside Yangon and Mandalay. Fees for consultations, medicines, surgery, transport and quarantine vary by provider, and no reliable current nationwide price list is established. Rabies prevention has a high priority because dogs are the main source of human transmission. Rabies is a reportable animal disease under the Animal Health and Livestock Development Law 2020, and national vaccination campaigns and One Health programmes operate in cooperation with local authorities and health services. WHO information states that post-exposure treatment for a person bitten by a dog, including vaccine and immunoglobulin in hospitals at several levels, is provided without charge in the reported public-health pathway. That human treatment does not mean that veterinary treatment for the animal is free. Owners should keep vaccination records and seek medical care promptly after a bite. The 2025 amendment to the Animal Health and Livestock Development Law added licensing and inspection rules for businesses that collect or protect animals. It does not create a verified nationwide pet passport, mandatory microchip system or uniform national relinquishment and euthanasia process. If an owner can no longer keep an animal, responsible rehoming, Yangon Animal Shelter adoption or foster care, and assistance from a private clinic or community rescue network are functional options. Abandonment exposes the animal and the public to avoidable welfare and disease risks. Import and export requirements require separate confirmation. An available LBVD import rule for dogs and cats is expressly framed for breeding purposes. It requires an import licence, individual identification, an authorised veterinary health certificate, freedom from infectious disease and ectoparasites, fitness for transport, rabies compliance, vaccinations against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus at least 21 days before export, and at least 30 days of approved quarantine after arrival. The documented fee is 10,000 kyat per dog or cat, and the importer or owner pays the related costs. Non-compliance can lead to return or destruction without compensation. Private relocation or return journeys need direct confirmation with LBVD, Customs and the airline because the published rule's breeding purpose, document age and carrier requirements may not cover every private move. For departure from Myanmar, the destination country controls the import permit, vaccination, antibody-test, microchip and quarantine requirements. Yangon private clinics can support the health certificate and LBVD export-licence process, but they cannot issue the export licence themselves. One clinic recommends an examination about two weeks before travel and applying for the export licence at least ten days before departure; an antibody test may require an overseas laboratory and can extend the process to about two months. Check the destination country's official requirements before booking transport. For example, the United Kingdom uses an active EHC 7961 for exports of cats and dogs from Myanmar.