Library picture of a cat. Photo: Emilía S. Ólafsdóttir Kaaber. 
 
 A Swiss woman was arrested in Höfn, southeast Iceland, on Saturday evening for smuggling her cat into Iceland. The cat was found and destroyed by authorities. 
 
 The woman, who was traveling alone, had arrived in Iceland with the Norröna ferry on Tuesday. 
 
 Under Icelandic law, pets entering Iceland can only do so through Keflavík International Airport, and as well as fulfilling all the standards of the European Pet Passport, must also spend four weeks in quarantine thanks to Iceland’s extremely tough disease prevention laws, which also state that any smuggled animal must be put down and the body destroyed, RÚV reports. 
 
 In addition to losing her cat and being arrested, the woman will also now be charged for the disinfecting of her entire camper van, inside and out, as well as other associated costs. 
 
 The independent vet in Höfn called the East Iceland head regional vet on Saturday upon hearing rumors of a foreign couple traveling with their cat. The vet was advised to call the police, who arrested the Swiss woman within two hours. 
 
 Despite the law being perfectly clear, and strongly enforced, many in Iceland are today asking if the authorities went too far in this case. 
 
 One social media user claims the woman is in her sixties and was not attempting to hide her cat in any way and simply did not know that its pet passport was not valid in Iceland—adding that the cat had previously traveled throughout Europe with its owner without incident. 
 
 Another commenter asks whether confiscating the cat and taking it for a vet’s check up at the owner's expense might not have been a better option. 
 
 The law is the law but, some are asking, is there room for interpretation on humanitarian grounds? 
 
 Separate to this case, there has also been ongoing debate in Iceland for several years about whether or not to join the European Pet Passport scheme. Predictably, the idea is popular with pet owners and unpopular with farmers. 
 
 This article has been updated as some earlier reports suggested the woman was traveling with her husband. ||||| Crime 
 
 Cat smuggled to Iceland in RV by Swiss traveller not the first travelling pet put down by police 
 
 By Staff 
 
 No trip for a cat Icelandic Police has on more than one occasion arrested foreign travellers who have attempted to smuggle pet cats to Iceland. These cases end with fines for the owners. The cats are put down. Photo/Vísir. 
 
 The story of a cat which was smuggled into Iceland by a Swiss woman, only to be put down by Icelandic authorities on Friday, has generated considerable attention. This is not the first time Icelandic police has to deal with foreign travellers who have smuggled pets into Iceland, and not the first time a cat onboard a RV has been put down. In 2003 police in North Iceland got into a violent altercation with French travellers who tried to stop them from putting down their cat. 
 
 A violent altercation with French cat-smugglers 
 
 In August 2003 police in North Iceland became aware of the fact that a French couple which had arrived in Iceland on the ferry Norröna was hiding a cat in their RV. Police officers stopped the couple on the Ring Road south of the town of Blönduós. When officers requested permission to search the RV the couple refused, forcing the officers to get a court order to enter the vehicle. 
 
 Read more: Police puts down cat which was smuggled to Iceland on-board RV by foreign travellers 
 
 The officers found the cat, which was taken to the county veterinarian which then put the cat down. The local newspaper Morgunblaðið reported that when the couple, which had been taken to the police station, learned what would happen to their cat, the man "became consumed with rage", resulting in a violent altercation with the officers who arrest both the man and his wife. The man suffered a broken rib in the struggle. 
 
 According to Morgunblaðið the travellers spent the night in a cell, and after a conversation with the French embassy in Reykjavík they agreed to face the consequences of their actions, including a fine for smuggling a live animal into Iceland. 
 
 Many animal diseases, including rabies, unknown in Iceland 
 
 Icelandic law has very strict rules governing the import of live animals. It is strictly forbidden to import most farm animals, and pets must be quarantined before they are allowed into the country. Pet owners who wish to bring their pets with them must apply for a permit and fill out extensive paperwork. The law states that animals which are imported in violation of this law must be put down immediately and their carcasses then destroyed. 
 
 The reason for the law is that many animal diseases, including rabies, have never been detected in Iceland. Icelandic authorities are therefore extremely vigilant when it comes to the smuggling of live animals. In cases when animals are discovered onboard airplanes they are usually sent back on the next flight, but in cases when animals have already managed to evade customs officials and made it into the country, they are put down without exception. 
 
 Swiss woman arrested for smuggling a cat 
 
 On Friday Police in South Iceland confiscated and then put down a pet cat which had been smuggled to Iceland. The cat's owner, a Swiss woman, had hidden it onboard her RV during a trip onboard the ferry Norröna which connects Denmark and Iceland. The woman was arrested by police on Saturday evening. She is facing fines for violating the strict laws on the importation of live animals to Iceland, as well as the cost of putting her cat down and the destruction of the body, as well as the cost of sterilizing the RV. ||||| Iceland is a popular destination for travelers around the world: From 2010 to 2015, tourism grew from 488,000 annual visitors to more than 1.2 million. And it’s no surprise why — Iceland’s stunning landscapes including volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls, mud baths, hot springs and more attract adventure-seekers and spa-lovers alike. But, with more tourism comes more problems for the small nation. 
 
 One issue that has sadly bubbled to the surface in Iceland is travelers attempting to smuggle their pets into the country. On April 24, the Iceland Monitor reported that police in Höfn, South East Iceland, received a tip that a Swiss woman arrived in Norröna on a ferry with her cat in tow. 
 
 However, under Icelandic law, pets entering the country can only pass through Keflavík International Airport and must be traveling with the proper paperwork. The pet must be at least 5 months old and be quarantined for a predetermined amount of time. 
 
 But because this smuggled furry traveler was not properly documented, Iceland police had no choice but to take the animal to an area veterinarian and have it put down. 
 
 This is not the first time police have had to make this difficult decision. In 2003, Iceland Magazine reported, police in North Iceland became aware of a French couple who had also arrived in Iceland on the ferry, allegedly also hiding their cat in an RV as well. In that case the cat was eventually put down and the couple was charged for smuggling the animal into the country. 
 
 While the outcome seems unimaginable, police acted to protect the delicate ecosystem that still exists in iceland. The reason for the strict animal laws, Iceland Magazine reported, is that many animal diseases, including rabies, have never been detected in Iceland. An un-declared kitten, puppy, or farm animal could easily introduce a new disease that has never been seen in the animal population before and devastate different animal populations. 
 
 Traveling with your beloved pet is ideal for many, however, across the globe laws on transporting animals in planes, boats, and vehicles varies widely. In the United States, for example, the requirements are different for different animals. Cats traveling into the U.S. from foreign countries require little documentation, while dogs may require extensive paperwork before being allowed to set foot, or paw, into the country. Check with your airline, country of origin and destination before ever taking your pet along for your journey.
– Iceland's beauty attracts more than a million travelers from around the world every year, and a tourist just learned the hard way that the country doesn't mess around when it comes to protecting its turf. A Swiss woman in her 60s entered the country in her camper by ferry and snuck her cat in along with her. Under Icelandic law, pets entering the country can only pass through Keflavík International Airport, must have the proper paperwork, and must be quarantined for a month, reports the Iceland Review. Police acting on a tip arrested the woman in Höfn in southeastern Iceland within two hours of her arrival and promptly brought her cat to a vet, where it was killed. They're also billing the woman for disinfecting her camper van. Some are calling the measure extreme, though Travel and Leisure notes that Iceland has a delicate ecosystem to protect, and that many diseases found in animals all over the world have never been detected in Iceland—including rabies. The argument in favor of the tough measure is that the island's animals could be devastated by just one undeclared animal unwittingly introducing a disease for which the native population has no immunity. Iceland Magazine reports that this isn't the first time a cat has been smuggled onto the island only to be euthanized. In 2003, police put down a French couple's cat they'd hidden in their RV. (There are now about two feral cats per human in Hawaii.)