Bali with dogs and pets: vets, rules and bringing a pet

Rabies in Bali

Rabies reached Bali in 2008. The first cases in people and dogs were confirmed in November 2008 on the Bukit Peninsula, and more than 130 people died over the next three years.

The disease is still active. From January to August 2026 Bali recorded 45,365 bites from animals that can carry rabies, and seven people died. In 2025, 16 people died of rabies. In September 2025 one rabid dog bit 15 climbers on the trails of Mount Batukaru in Tabanan. Cases rose sharply in 2025 and 2026, and a national parliament commission that visited in September 2026 called the situation a rabies emergency.

Mass dog vaccination is the main defence. By July 2026, 282,683 dogs had been vaccinated, 49.51 percent of a target population of 570,976, while stopping transmission needs coverage of at least 70 percent. The province aims to be free of rabies by 2030.

Once symptoms appear, rabies is fatal in every case. Dogs cause up to 99 percent of human cases. The incubation period is usually 2 to 3 months but ranges from one week to one year.

Rules for dog and cat owners

Bali's rabies laws cover dogs, cats and monkeys, grouped as hewan penular rabies (HPR), animals that can spread rabies. Under the provincial rabies bylaw (Perda Bali 15/2009) and the governor's regulation on keeping these animals (Pergub Bali 18/2010), every owner must:

• Register the animal with the head of the local dusun or village to get an HPR registration card, and show the card when officers collect data.
• Vaccinate against rabies from the age of one month, repeat the vaccination every year, and keep the vaccination card to bring to each booster.
• Fit a collar or tag. Registered and vaccinated dogs must wear a collar or a tag (peneng) made of a material that does not irritate the skin.
• Keep the animal at home, inside the house or the yard. Dogs may run loose only when the yard and its gate are closed. They need shelter from sun and rain and a kennel large enough to move around in, and a chained dog needs a chain of at least 2 metres and exercise every day.
• Use a chain lead and muzzle outside. Off the property a dog must be on a chain and wear a muzzle (brongsong), under the control of the owner or a minder.
• Report suspected rabies. Anyone who sees an animal with signs of rabies must report it to the regency animal health office.

Dogs roaming public roads without a vaccination tag can be caught and impounded. Owners can reclaim them by paying for their keep. After 14 days an unclaimed animal is confiscated, and it can be adopted once declared free of rabies or is otherwise put down. Breaking the owner duties carries up to six months' detention or a fine of up to Rp50,000,000.

Breeders also need a breeding licence, may not mate dogs younger than 12 months, may not wean or sell puppies under 8 weeks, and must sterilise their dogs to prevent unwanted litters.

Free rabies vaccination

The provincial government runs free mass vaccination days. On Tumpek Uye, which falls on Saniscara Kliwon in the week of Uye and is marked with prayers and care for animals, free rabies shots for dogs, cats and monkeys were given in every banjar and village from 08.00 on 5 September 2026. Animals must be healthy, dogs must be under control for the injection, and each vaccinated dog gets a collar. Private vets also vaccinate and issue rabies vaccination certificates.

Bringing a dog or cat into Bali

Bali is closed to pet dogs and cats from outside the island.

• Pergub Bali 88/2008, which took effect on 1 December 2008, temporarily closes the entry into and exit from Bali of dogs, cats, monkeys and similar animals, and bars anyone from bringing them in or taking them out.
• Perda Bali 15/2009 bans bringing these animals in from outside Bali except for non commercial purposes: religious ceremonies, national security, science and conservation. Each such entry needs a recommendation from the governor. The same bylaw bans moving these animals out of regencies declared infected.
• Pergub Bali 19/2010 counts keeping an animal as your own pet as commercial movement, together with shows and trade, and commercial movement from outside Bali is banned. A family dog or cat therefore does not qualify for the exception.

For the non commercial exceptions, the applicant writes to the governor and needs:

• a technical recommendation from the provincial livestock office
• a health and origin certificate from an authorised vet at the place of origin
• a letter confirming no rabies at the place of origin in the past 6 months
• a rabies vaccination given 30 days to 1 year before entry, with its certificate
• a laboratory ELISA result showing a protective rabies antibody titre
• the full quarantine procedure

Breaking the entry ban carries up to six months' detention or a fine of up to Rp50,000,000, plus administrative sanctions.

Arriving in Indonesia from abroad

National quarantine rules come on top of Bali's ban, and clearing them does not open Bali.

• Report to the quarantine agency (Badan Karantina Indonesia, known as Barantin or Karantina) 3 days before arrival, or earlier for a first import, and file the request for quarantine action online through its PTK Online system.
• The animal must not come from a country under an import ban, and it needs a health certificate from the country of origin.
• Dogs and cats, as rabies carriers, need a vaccination book and a rabies antibody titre result. The health certificate must confirm that the animal is at least 3 months old, was vaccinated with a killed rabies vaccine and has a rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml, that it lived in the country of origin for at least 6 months with no rabies reported in its area during that time, and that a vet examined it 5 days before departure.
• On arrival, quarantine officers check the documents and the animal, then isolate and observe it at a designated quarantine facility. A healthy animal is released. If the documents are incomplete and not completed in time, the animal can be refused entry.

Leaving Bali with a pet

Pergub Bali 88/2008 closes the exit of dogs, cats and monkeys as well as their entry, and the 2009 bylaw bans moving them out of infected regencies. Get the current procedure in writing from the quarantine office at Ngurah Rai airport before booking anything.

The destination sets its own entry rules, and some require a rabies antibody titre test months ahead. The European Union, for example, requires the following:

• The pet is microchipped before the rabies vaccination.
• The rabies vaccine is given at 12 weeks of age or older, and becomes valid 21 days after the primary course.
• Unless the pet comes from a country exempt from the test, an authorised vet takes a blood sample at least 30 days after the primary vaccination and at least 90 days before the animal health certificate is issued. A designated laboratory must measure at least 0.5 IU/ml.

Street dogs and staying safe

• Avoid contact with stray dogs and other stray animals, which are common on beaches, at temples and in rural areas.
• Do not feed dogs on hiking trails. On Mount Batukaru, food left behind by hikers drew more dogs to the mountain.
• Keep your own dog vaccinated and do not let it roam.

If an animal bites or scratches you:

1. Wash the wound straight away with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes.
2. Go to the nearest health facility for post exposure rabies vaccination. Rabies immunoglobulin may be added, especially for severe bites or for people never vaccinated before.
3. Report the bite so the animal can be watched.

After a bite from a stray or unmonitored dog, the anti rabies vaccine (VAR) is given straight away. After a bite from a pet dog, health workers check its vaccination status, and a vaccinated, healthy dog with no signs of rabies is considered safe. Most of the people who died of rabies in Bali in 2026 had not gone to a health facility after being bitten.

Vets and pet services

Open around the clock

• BVC24H Bali Veterinary Clinic Pererenan is a 24 hour animal hospital on Jalan Pantai Pererenan in Pererenan.
• Sunset Vet in Legian, Kuta, is open 24 hours every day including public holidays, with CT scanning, digital x ray, ultrasound and blood tests, and has branches in Canggu and Ubud.
• Central Vet in Kerobokan offers a 24 hour service for checkups and urgent care.

Canggu, Kerobokan and Seminyak

• Semer Vet Care, a vet in Kerobokan Kelod.
• Santi Vet Care, a vet in Kerobokan.
• Bali Veterinary Clinic, a vet clinic in Seminyak.

Sanur and Denpasar

• Canifeli Vet Bali in Sidakarya, South Denpasar, offers consultations, surgery, dental scaling, grooming and boarding, with a special interest in dermatology.
• B_Agus VET Sanur, a vet in Sanur.

Jimbaran and the Bukit

• Vets: Cita Vet, Kedonganan Veterinary, Griya Husada Satwa Veterinary (GHSVet), Dokter Hewan Drh. Dewa Made Hartanaya and Veterinarian Gusti Ayu Wediadi, all in Jimbaran.
• Pet shops and care: 99 Petshop Grooming & Vet Care and Taman Griya PetCare in Jimbaran.

East Bali and Nusa Penida

• Miko Dog Hotel, a dog hotel in Amed.
• Pet Paradise Pet Shop, a pet shop in Amed.
• ZonaPie Petshop Nusa Penida, a pet shop on Nusa Penida.

Renting with a pet

• Dogs must live inside the house or in a yard with a closed gate, so look for a fully walled garden with a gate that shuts properly.
• Dogs also need shelter from sun and rain, so check for shade and a covered space outside.
• Put the landlord's permission for pets in the lease, with the number and kind of animals.
• After moving in, register the dog with the head of the local dusun or village.
• Before moving to another regency with a dog or cat, remember that the 2009 bylaw restricts moving these animals out of infected regencies.