Chile has imposed stricter health requirements for the temporary export and return of equines, as well as for their definitive import, aligning with WOAH standards and eliminating entry pathways for seropositive equine arteritis virus cases.<\/p>\n
Chile\u2019s agriculture ministry has tightened health rules for horses and other equines entering the country, closing a route for animals infected with equine arteritis virus and bringing temporary exports back under the same controls as permanent imports.<\/p>\n
The new requirements, published in the official gazette on 25 February 2026<\/strong>, cover every horse, donkey and mule that leaves Chile for competitions or events and returns within 90 days. Beyond that window, returning animals must meet the full import regime, including post-entry quarantine and testing for eleven diseases. The delivered cost of compliance falls on the owner or importer; the state pays only for the surveillance network that enforces the rules.<\/p>\n The measure sets a 90-day limit<\/strong> on temporary exports1<\/a><\/sup>. Any equine that stays abroad longer must re-enter under the definitive-import rules, which include a 30-day quarantine and serological tests for equine infectious anaemia, equine arteritis virus, and nine other pathogens listed in the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Code1<\/a><\/sup>. The old regime allowed seropositive animals to return if they showed no clinical signs; the new one bars them outright, eliminating a pathway for subclinical carriers of equine arteritis virus.<\/p>\n It comes after Chile confirmed its first case of equine infectious anaemia (EIA) in the Atacama region in early 2025 and declared a national zoosanitary emergency2<\/a><\/sup>. Since then, the agriculture ministry\u2019s animal-health agency, SAG, has detected 17 positive cases in \u00d1uble alone and sampled 672 farms across the country3<\/a><\/sup>. The emergency declaration unlocked additional funding for 12 rapid-response teams in the Biob\u00edo region, where the disease has spread fastest4<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n Every shipment must be accompanied by a veterinary health certificate<\/strong> issued by the host country\u2019s competent authority, written in Spanish and in the local language1<\/a><\/sup>. The certificate must list the animal\u2019s microchip number, the purpose of the trip, and any vaccinations or treatments administered during the event. On arrival, the horse is trucked directly to its home farm, where it enters a post-entry quarantine<\/strong> period during which SAG veterinarians run the WOAH-recommended tests1<\/a><\/sup>. The owner pays for the tests, the transport and the quarantine facilities; the state covers only the laboratory work and the farm inspections.<\/p>\n The microchip must comply with ISO 11784 and be readable with an ISO 11785 device1<\/a><\/sup>. If the animal was vaccinated against equine influenza or rhinopneumonitis before departure, the certificate must record the vaccine\u2019s brand, batch number and date of administration1<\/a><\/sup>. Any treatment given during the event must be documented in the same way, and the drugs must be administered in conditions that prevent disease transmission.<\/p>\n Chile has also updated the rules for frozen horse semen, revoking a 1994 resolution and replacing it with a new one that took effect on 15 March 2026<\/strong>5<\/a><\/sup>. The new requirements demand that the collection centre be officially approved by both the exporting country and SAG, and that it operate under the direct supervision of a resident veterinarian5<\/a><\/sup>. Semen must be stored for at least 30 days after collection in a dedicated, sealed container that has never held non-compliant material5<\/a><\/sup>. On arrival, SAG may run additional tests at the importer\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n The semen itself must be diluted with pathogen-free extenders and antibiotics, and every straw must carry the donor\u2019s microchip number and the zoosanitary certificate number5<\/a><\/sup>. Donors that test seropositive for equine herpesvirus type 1 must undergo two seroneutralisation tests 14 days apart; the second titre may not exceed four times the first5<\/a><\/sup>. If the exporting country is recognised by WOAH as free of any of the listed diseases, the corresponding test is waived.<\/p>\n SAG has extended the deadline for domestic equine traceability to 25 February 2028<\/strong>, giving smallholders and non-commercial owners an extra 18 months to microchip their animals and register them in the national database6<\/a><\/sup>. The obligation already applies to sport and breeding horses; those owners had until 25 August 2026<\/strong> to comply6<\/a><\/sup>. Every movement between farms must now be recorded on a Movement Animal Form<\/strong>, which the owner must present to SAG inspectors on request4<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\nThe 90-day window and the diseases it closes<\/h2>\n
The hard edges of the new regime<\/h4>\n
What a returning horse must carry<\/h2>\n
The paperwork on every returning horse<\/h4>\n
Frozen semen: a parallel tightening<\/h2>\n
From collection to border<\/h4>\n
Traceability deadlines and who must comply<\/h2>\n
Who must microchip, and by when<\/h4>\n