As much as many pet owners would love to embark on international travels with their pets, they hesitate because of the different pet immigration rules of different countries, as well as airline regulations and a lot of other uncertainties.
There are several rules associated with pet import and export, and you need to follow these rules closely to avoid problems. Let’s talk about the regulations related to pet travel and the dangers associated with breaking them.
Why are pet travel rules necessary?
Pet immigration regulations are implemented to document your pet properly when travelling to a new country. These regulations are not exactly the same across other countries, but these countries follow the same framework, which includes vaccinations, health checks, microchipping, and official documentation.
Vaccinations are necessary to protect your pet against life-threatening diseases and to prevent zoonotic and infectious diseases like leptospirosis, rabies, bordetella, parvovirus, feline leukaemia, canine distemper, parainfluenza, and hepatitis, from spreading, as well as avoiding the introduction of these diseases into the destination country.
What happens when you don’t meet the criteria for pet travel?
Failing to meet pet import conditions come with consequences. In some countries, this might mean quarantining the pet until the regulations are met or rejecting the pet entirely.
The common consequences associated with breaking pet import regulations include:
Rejection and Return of Pets
Some countries will return your pets when they don’t meet the pet travel conditions, and the return will be at your expense.
Extended quarantine
Pets that fail to meet the pet import criteria will face extended quarantine in many countries until all the requirements are met. This extension is often costly, and the pet owner often has to bear the cost.
Extra documentation and tests
Some countries will require your pet to undergo further documentation and testing if the existing ones aren’t satisfactory, and the pet owner bears the expense.
Stress
You can’t take away the aspect of stress because the pet travel process is stressful internationally, and the rules can be quite difficult to follow. It becomes worse and more stressful when you don’t meet all the regulations before entering the destination country. You and your pet will go through a lot of discomfort and stress until you are able to sort everything out.
Work with international pet import and export experts
You will be exposing yourself and your pet to a lot of risk and stress when you make international travels without ensuring that you have the proper documents for the trip. You will end up spending more money and time to sort things out.
If you’re not sure you can handle the pet immigration process for your pet dog or cat, reach out to an IPATA-member pet travel agency such as Ferndale Kennels and Cattery. The experts from Ferndale are very experienced and have been handling pet imports and export since 1994. The company will handle all the arrangements including official documentation, veterinary matters, and all health requirements necessary for your pet to give you a seamless process.