Living in a dangerous place

If I say that life is dangerous here in Svalbard, I guess people start to think polar bears or harsh Arctic climate. But no, I don't mean anything like that. It looks like we're living in a place with dangerous diseases.

The mainland Norway isn't having Rabies, not Echinococcus parasite either. We're having both of them here in Svalbard. Because of that all the dogs, which are travelling to the mainland need to be identity marked (chipped) and they need to have yearly vaccination against Rabies and blood analyse to proof antibodies against that disease. Earlier we bought ourself a worm treatment against Echinococcus before we travelled to the mainland, but since May we couldn't do that ourself anymore but a worm treatment needed to be given by a vet. And that caused a little bit more seriouse problems as a vet is coming to the island just about three times per year.

In early August a lady who can give veterinary services moved in the our island. That makes our life easier, at least temporiraly, as she can confirm given worm treatment. But anyhow, even though we can get now necessary stamps on dogs passport, we can't travel just like that to the mainland. Rules aren't that easy to interpret. Costums meaned that Svalbard is counted in the same category than third countries, which means that we need to contact two days before we travel "Mattilsynet" (=Norwegian Food Safety Authority) and ask a veterinary to meet us in the airport we're landing. Travelling with an animal from Svalbard to the mainland is counted as risky as taking an animal from the deepest Africa with excotic and potentially dangerous diseases. That resulted in that a veterinary needed to be called and he checked that our dog was looking healthy enough to be slipped in the country.

I shouldn't be compleining about the rules which are meant to protect our safety, but in this case I'm feeling all that is little bit overkill and unnecessary use of resources which are paid by taxes. I really can't get it that we're living in so dangerous place it's necessary with all of that fuzz.