InfoPET^®

If you are planning to travel or move overseas with your pet, your first step should be to contact the consulate of the destination country for your pet's importation requirements, to make sure you have all the right information.  Some countries require a lengthy quarantine, others have more rigid standards, and some only accept pets at certain airports within that country.  A listing of consulates can be found at the U.S. Department of State website.

Many countries require your pet to have an International Health Certificate.  A completed and signed International Health Certificate must be endorsed by a USDA (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) APHIS (Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service) Veterinary Services area office in order to be valid.  To obtain the USDA endorsement of an International Health Certificate or any other documents relating to traveling with your pet, the documents must be completed by an APHIS accredited veterinarian who certifies animal health status, conducts tests, and records test results for the individual animals being exported. 

The APHIS Area Office for your state can assist you with your questions relating to traveling with your pet, help you locate an accredited veterinarian, and inform you of the fee(s) for the USDA endorsement(s).  You should check with your current veterinarian to determine if he/she is an APHIS accredited veterinarian.  You can locate the Veterinary Services Area Office for your state at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/area_offices/.

A microchip should be implanted in your pet to identify it on an International Health Certificate and other importation documents.   Most countries specify ISO (International Organization of Standards) microchips that are in compliance with ISO Standard 11784 or Annex A to ISO Standard 11785.  InfoPET/Trovan microchips are in compliance with Annex A of ISO Standard 11785 and thus are an acceptable microchip in most countries.  If a microchip does not conform to either of these ISO Standards, it may not be able to be read by a standard microchip reader when the animal is checked at the time of travel overseas or upon arrival in your destination country.  This means that the pet owner will need to provide their own microchip reader (at their expense) to enable the microchip number to be read successfully in such cases.

Following are web sites offering further information on traveling overseas with your pet:

USDA APHIS International Animal Export Regulations:  http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/animals

United Kingdom:  http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/index.htm

Australia:  http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/cat-dogs

New Zealand:  http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/enter/personal/pets

                            http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/faq

European Union Regulation No. 998/2003: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2003:146:0001:0009:EN:PDF

The following is an excerpt from this EU Regulation No. 998/2003:

1. During an eight-year transitional period starting from the entry into force of this Regulation, animals of the species listed

in parts A and B of Annex I shall be regarded as identified where they bear:

(a) either a clearly readable tattoo; or

(b) an electronic identification system (transponder).

In the case referred to in point (b) of the preceding subparagraph, where the transponder does not comply with ISO Standard

11784 or Annex A to ISO Standard 11785, the owner or the natural person responsible for the pet animal on behalf of

the owner must provide the means necessary for reading the transponder at the time of any inspection.

Copyright © 2016 InfoPET^®