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Livestock, meat and animal health in Paraguay: SENACSA registration, vaccination, transit documents, plant approvals and sanctions

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Cattle and beef exports depend on the Servicio Nacional de Calidad y Salud Animal (SENACSA), the autonomous agency created by Ley 2426/2004 that registers ranches, herds, slaughterhouses, processing plants, veterinary products and laboratories and issues every zoosanitary certificate for trade inside and outside Paraguay. Vaccination under SENACSA plans is compulsory and paid by owners, animals in transit and at fairs, auctions and slaughter must carry SENACSA documents and transfer guides, and unauthorised imports of animals, genetics or veterinary products are slaughtered or destroyed without compensation. SENACSA fees are capped at 50 monthly minimum wages per service, fines for repeat infringements run from 10 to 1,000 daily minimum wages, plants can be closed or deregistered, and appeals do not suspend measures taken for health risk.

USD figures use PYG 5,868.31 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Paraguay reference quotation in the planilla for Wednesday 28 October 2026. Amounts set in daily minimum wages (jornales) use PYG 117,077 and those in monthly minimum wages use PYG 3,044,000, both in force since 1 July 2026 under MTESS Resolution 670/2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Maximum SENACSA fee per service	50 monthly minimum wagesLey 2426/2004 art. 27, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum fine for repeated or repeat infringement	10 daily minimum wagesLey 2426/2004 art. 37, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum fine for repeated or repeat infringement	1,000 daily minimum wagesLey 2426/2004 art. 37, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Animal vaccination under SENACSA plans	Compulsory, paid by owners Ley 2426/2004 art. 50 and 54, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Animals and products imported without SENACSA authorisation	Slaughter or destruction without compensation Ley 2426/2004 art. 38 and 39, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Appeals against SENACSA health risk decisions	Not suspensive Ley 2426/2004 art. 41, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
SENACSA registers	Public and free to consult Ley 2426/2004 art. 9, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. SENACSA and its powers. SENACSA is an autonomous public law entity, linked to the Executive through the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería and seated in San Lorenzo, responsible for national animal health and quality policy. It replaced the former animal health service and the livestock protection and animal food control directorates. Its objectives are to prevent, control and eradicate animal diseases, to control and certify the quality and safety of animal products, to support Paraguay's place in international trade in animal products, and to register and inspect livestock and industrial establishments, animal products and veterinary inputs. Its functions include registering ranches, herds and livestock sale points; registering, licensing, inspecting and closing laboratories, veterinary clinics and establishments that process, store, transport and sell animal products; setting requirements for veterinary biologicals, drugs and feed; issuing zoosanitary and quality certificates for domestic trade, exports and imports; authorising imports and exports of animals, genetic material and animal products; declaring disease free zones and quarantines; and running border control posts. All SENACSA registers are public and free to consult.
Cost to do it: Registration and certification are charged under SENACSA service fees set by the Executive within the cap of art. 27.
Example: A foreign investor buying a meat packing plant needs the plant's SENACSA registration and licence to remain valid for the new owner before exporting under its number. / A US$50 million slaughterhouse project budgets SENACSA licensing and export plant approval as a critical path item.Ley Nº 2426/2004, crea el Servicio Nacional de Calidad y Salud Animal (SENACSA), Art. 1 to 4, 7, 8 and 9, 2004-07-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. Fees. The Executive, on SENACSA's proposal, sets each year the fees and charges for SENACSA services based on their actual cost, which may not exceed the equivalent of 50 monthly minimum wages. Imports of goods and products exclusively for SENACSA's own purposes are exempt from customs duties, consular charges, IVA and other import charges.
Cost to do it: Ceiling per service: 50 monthly minimum wages, PYG 152,200,000 (about US$25,936).
Example: No single SENACSA fee may exceed PYG 152,200,000 in 2026, whatever the service. / The cap equals about US$25,936 per service at the 28 October 2026 rate.Ley Nº 2426/2004, crea el SENACSA, Art. 27 and 33, 2004-07-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Vaccination, diagnosis and veterinary biologicals. Vaccination of animals is compulsory under SENACSA's action plans for each disease, and diagnostic controls are compulsory. SENACSA sets compulsory control and vaccination zones. Vaccination is paid for and carried out by owners and supervised by SENACSA, which may do it itself or through third parties at the owners' cost, may use official vaccinators free of charge for owners with scarce resources, and may license private vaccinators. Private diagnostic laboratories and laboratories producing veterinary biologicals need SENACSA approval and licensing, and private and imported vaccines are verified in SENACSA's laboratory. Vaccines and biologicals not authorised by SENACSA are confiscated, and anyone holding unfit or badly stored products is sanctioned.
Cost to do it: Vaccination costs are borne by owners; laboratory licensing fees follow the SENACSA fee schedule.
Example: A ranch with 5,000 head pays for each SENACSA campaign vaccination of its herd and keeps the vaccination record that its transit and sale documents depend on. / A foreign veterinary vaccine supplier cannot sell in Paraguay until SENACSA's laboratory verifies the product; unauthorised stock is confiscated.Ley Nº 2426/2004, crea el SENACSA, Art. 50 to 58, 2004-07-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Movement, trade and slaughter. Every owner of livestock covered by SENACSA programmes must hold the documentation SENACSA issues. SENACSA sets compulsory control posts where certificates of animals in transit are checked; every animal sent to an exhibition, fair, auction, import or export must carry SENACSA documents; and slaughterhouses and plants that slaughter for industry or export may not admit any animal without them. SENACSA issues livestock transfer guides together with the sanitary document, based on registers of additions, removals and authorised transfers, and may require identification of animals and products. To control disease SENACSA may inspect fields, pens, vehicles and warehouses, declare quarantines and ban transit to and from outbreak areas, propose bans on imports of cattle, fresh hides, meat and by products from countries without similar programmes or affected by exotic diseases, and set sanitary cordons, coordinating with neighbouring countries on border transit.
Cost to do it: Transit documents and transfer guides are charged under the SENACSA fee schedule.
Example: A feedlot buying 1,000 steers at auction needs SENACSA documents for every animal and a transfer guide to move them; the packer will not admit them for slaughter without the documents. / An exporter of US$5 million of beef a year depends on unbroken SENACSA documentation from ranch to plant to keep the export certificate chain intact.Ley Nº 2426/2004, crea el SENACSA, Art. 47, 59 and 61 to 67, 2004-07-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Sanctions and enforcement. SENACSA sanctions infringers according to gravity with a written warning, a fine, confiscation and destruction of goods and means used, suspension and cancellation of registration and licence, and partial, temporary or permanent closure of premises, after an administrative proceeding based on a technical opinion. For repeated or repeat infringements a fine of 10 to 1,000 daily minimum wages applies. SENACSA suspends or cancels the registration and licence of establishments that do not meet technical conditions until they regularise. Animals, genetic material, animal products and chemical or biological products brought into the country without import authorisation, or without hygienic and sanitary conditions, are slaughtered, confiscated or destroyed without further procedure and without compensation; owners found responsible for acts that put the country's sanitary situation at risk are never compensated. In matters of health risk, administrative appeals and court actions before the Tribunal de Cuentas do not suspend SENACSA's decisions.
Cost to do it: Repeat infringement fines from 10 daily minimum wages, PYG 1,170,770 (about US$200) to 1,000 daily minimum wages, PYG 117,077,000 (about US$19,951).
Example: A trader who brings breeding bulls across the border without SENACSA import authorisation can see them slaughtered without compensation; a repeat offence also carries a fine of up to PYG 117,077,000. / Genetic material worth US$200,000 imported without authorisation can be destroyed with no right to indemnity, on top of fines of up to about US$19,951.Ley Nº 2426/2004, crea el SENACSA, Art. 34, 36 to 41 and 75, 2004-07-28 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Item	Legal measure	PYG	USD
Fee cap per service	50 monthly minimum wages	PYG 152,200,000	US$25,936
Repeat infringement fine, minimum	10 daily minimum wages	PYG 1,170,770	US$200
Repeat infringement fine, maximum	1,000 daily minimum wages	PYG 117,077,000	US$19,951

SENACSA money limits at 2026 minimum wages (USD at PYG 5,868.31)

Worked example

Meat packer acquisition: before closing, the buyer checks SENACSA's public register for the plant's registration and licence and any suspension. After closing, an animal admitted without SENACSA documents is an infringement; on repetition the fine can reach PYG 117,077,000 (about US$19,951), and SENACSA can suspend the licence until conditions are regularised, with appeals not stopping the suspension if a health risk is involved.
Rancher: a ranch with 5,000 head pays for compulsory campaign vaccination of its herd, keeps SENACSA documents for every animal and requests transfer guides for each movement; sale at auction or to a packer is impossible without them.

Step by step

Register the ranch, herd or plant with SENACSA and obtain the licence for processing, storage, transport or sale of animal products.
Plan vaccination campaigns under the SENACSA calendar and keep records; use licensed private vaccinators or SENACSA campaigns.
For imports of animals, genetics, animal products or veterinary inputs, obtain SENACSA import authorisation before shipment and meet the zoosanitary requirements.
Request transfer guides and sanitary documents for each movement, and zoosanitary export certificates for each export lot.
Register veterinary products and, for laboratories, obtain SENACSA approval and licence.
Monitor SENACSA resolutions on fees, which the Executive fixes each year within the 50 monthly minimum wage cap.

Common traps

Unauthorised imports are destroyed or slaughtered without compensation (art. 38 and 39); there is no grace period for missing paperwork.
Appeals do not suspend SENACSA decisions in health risk matters (art. 41), so a closure or suspension applies during litigation.
In repeat cases the company and its technical manager can be jointly sanctioned with suspension (art. 40).
SENACSA fees change yearly by Executive decision; only the cap is in the law.
Border trade in cattle with neighbours, including Argentina, is subject to SENACSA border controls and possible import bans from countries affected by exotic diseases (art. 64 and 65); for the Argentine side see The Argentine Thread guide.

Sources

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