Pets in Guinea

The Ministère de l’Élevage and its Direction Nationale des Services Vétérinaires (DNSV) form part of Guinea’s formal veterinary framework. Private veterinary practices are authorized and encouraged, but access, medicine supplies and emergency coverage vary across the country. The Ordre National des Docteurs Vétérinaires de Guinée (ONDVG), public veterinary services, private cabinets and clinics can help with examinations, treatment, vaccination and travel documentation. National prices for consultations, vaccines, food, boarding and euthanasia were not evidenced in the available research. Owners and holders must provide housing, surroundings, food, water and care suited to the animal’s species. Suitable light, temperature, humidity, air quality and noise levels also matter. Abuse, neglect of a sick or injured animal and transport that causes avoidable suffering are prohibited. Humane killing is permitted only when pain, suffering and distress are minimized. Dogs require particular public-control measures. A dog outside the guardian’s building, home or land must remain on a leash or under immediate control and supervision; an unleashed dog is presumed uncontrolled. Category 1 attack dogs cannot be imported or introduced except under a public-interest exception. Category 2 guard or defence dogs may enter Guinea, public spaces and public transport only with a muzzle and leash. Rabies prevention has high practical relevance because dogs are the main transmission vector. Guinea’s first national dog-vaccination campaign ran from August to December 2023 and vaccinated about 90,000 dogs, reaching nearly 70% coverage in Conakry. The national elimination target is 2030, but a current nationwide pet-vaccination schedule and price list were not evidenced. Selling or giving away an animal with a contagious disease is prohibited, and the seller or donor can be liable for resulting harm. The cession of dogs, cats or other companion animals for payment or free at fairs, markets, brocantes, salons, exhibitions and other events not dedicated to animals is prohibited. No national acquisition licence or certification was evidenced. Live wildlife is outside ordinary pet keeping and may only be held with valid authorization or a permit. Importing a live animal by land, rail, water or air requires veterinary sanitary control before customs clearance. The file generally includes an official sanitary certificate and a certificate of origin. For live domestic animals, the MAGEL service sheet refers to a handwritten request to the DNSV and vaccination booklets; it states 72-hour processing for a complete file and no current fee, although the fee position should be confirmed with the DNSV because the sheet is not specific to pets. The authorities may allow entry, allow it conditionally, order quarantine or consignment, or refuse, seize or destroy the shipment. The importer or exporter bears the control costs. Export documentation can involve a sanitary certificate from the Laboratoire Central Vétérinaire de Diagnostic (LCVD), with the animal identification, rabies vaccination date, batch and validity, official veterinary inspection and rabies-exposure status recorded on the certificate specimen. Voluntarily abandoning a domestic, tame or captive animal is prohibited. A person who finds a stray, lost or abandoned animal without an identified owner should contact the competent administrative authority. An animal placed in a refuge or parc zoologique may not be killed unless a veterinarian orders euthanasia. The owner remains liable for placement, maintenance and guarding costs, whether the owner reclaims the animal or not. Guinea has no verified national shelter directory, standardized surrender timing or national intake-fee schedule; a practical arrangement may involve the local authority, an ONDVG or private veterinarian and a recognized animal-protection organization.