Santa’s reindeer cleared to fly into Washington state on Christmas Eve
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph received clearance from the State Veterinarian to fly into Washington state. 
Santa always takes the time to check interstatelivestock.com to meet the interstate animal movement requirements for the United States. All of Santa’s reindeer are required to be accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) issued by an accredited veterinarian and a permit number to move between states for toy delivery. A CVI is a special animal health document that certifies that the animals listed “are not showing signs of infectious, contagious and/or communicable diseases” and have met all the required vaccinations and testing requirements.
The last thing Santa wants to do when he is delivering gifts is deliver diseases to animals around the world or bring a disease back to the North Pole. The one he worries most about is Foot and Mouth Disease, the most contagious virus of all cloven hooved species. Movement of reindeer out of the North Pole is one of the biggest risks, but there are some small steps that Santa can take to make a difference and prevent diseases of his magical reindeer.
Not only does Santa have lists of “naughty” and “nice”, he also has a biosecurity list! This year, Santa’s elves worked closely with Dr. Danelle, a biosecurity veterinarian, to develop a plan at the North Pole to keep the reindeer healthy and to ensure business continuity of toy delivery.
Biosecurity Checklist - North Pole
Limiting Entry to the North Pole
- No visitors to the North Pole! Now you know why you can’t visit. The only visitor in hundreds of years was Buddy, a human baby that crawled into Santa’s sack at the orphanage and was raised by elves!
- Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) issued by an accredited veterinarian and a permit number within 30 days of departure
- Meet animal health requirements for each country and each state prior to take off
- Up to date on vaccinations
- Parasite prevention program
- Elves feed, water, and check them daily for changes in behavior
- Designated equipment for flying herd vs. home herd
- Do not share equipment from isolation areas
- Elves do not share equipment or vehicles from their own animals
- Do not use the same equipment to clean up manure and feed or clean and disinfect in between
- Clean manure, dirt, and bedding first, then wash and disinfect equipment or stalls
- Use the right disinfectant and according to the labels
- Clean and disinfect Santa’s sleigh and sled skis upon return and before entering the reindeer area
- Elves wear clean coveralls and disinfectable boots when in reindeer areas
- No international travel for elves, unless approved ahead of time
- Santa should not contact the home reindeer herd for 4 days starting Dec 26
- Do not eat in reindeer barns
- Elves wash their hands before and after handling reindeer
- Elves with cracked hands also wear gloves
- Keep returning reindeer separate in quarantine barn at Papa Elf’s farm for 30 days for observation prior to reintroducing them into the herd
- Keep feed and water for returning reindeer separate and feed them last
Santa's reindeer operation
Entry is controlled by the elves on the farm. This is an important step in preventing the entry of disease. Note that Santa’s house, the Toy workshop, and designated parking areas are outside the LOS, to decrease the risk of toy workers or delivery vehicles bringing in disease.
(North Pole- Reindeer Rd, Biosecurity Map created by Dr. Danelle Bickett-Weddle, Preventalytics)
Make sure to track Santa and the reindeer's flight path on December 24 using NORAD's Santa Tracker.
