APHIS Pet Travel Rules Explained

aphis pet travel

Following the APHIS pet travel rules when it comes to bringing your beloved pup along with you on a trip is key to avoiding any legal issues and ensuring you can board planes without a hassle. Before you board a plane to travel with your Fido to another state or country for your holiday, you might need to tick a few things off your list to meet the necessary requirements. Knowing the basics of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s regulations regarding pet importing and exporting can help you avoid hassles at domestic or international borders. 

APHIS Pet Travel: Foreign Countries

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If you are bringing a pet to a foreign country, it can be stressful enough as it is. But knowing ahead of time the rules and country’s specific entry requirements can help you avoid tons of paperwork during your travel and logistics at the departure and entry gates. 

The most important thing you need before you even get to the airport is obtaining the property information and paperwork from a USDA-accredited veterinarian. You need to have information regarding the kind of pet traveling with you, the destination country, countries where your pet may stop in transit, the departure date from the US, and whether the pet will be in the cargo hold or as a passenger of the plane.

On the other hand, if you are bringing a pet from another country into the United States for import, you may have to meet both the state and federal entry requirements to allow safe passage. The entry requirements differ based on the animal, with different rules for dogs, cats, ferrets, amphibians, rabbits, hedgehogs, rodents, reptiles, and birds. 

APHIS Pet Travel: Interstate Travel

For those who are thinking of bringing their pup with them on a great road trip across the United States, there could be less paperwork and logistics with interstate than international plane travel. However, you still might need to stay up to date on the current health certificate requirements, vaccinations, diagnostic testing, and treatments. 

Find your specific US state and Territory requirements by visiting the APHIS pet travel website and learning about the state animal rules. You can even contact the State animal health official to obtain more information before entering the state. For example, the Hawaii Animal Quarantine Information Page provides testing requirements, COVID-19 advisories, necessary animal forms, inspection checklists, and procedures for boarding.

APHIS Pet Travel: Prequalify

Some pet owners may be able to pre-qualify their pets with APHIS pet travel requirements. Dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, rodents, hedgehogs, amphibians, reptiles, and some birds qualify as pets for travel, meaning they have pet travel requirements. Other animals, like pheasants, pigeons, swans, turkeys, geese, chickens, partridges, and other types of birds, are subjected to different regulations. 

APHIS Pet Travel: Necessary for Health

Overall, the APHIS pet travel regulations can be lengthy, but they are required for worldwide animal and human health. Unregulated transfers of animals across borders and countries could lead to a widespread disease that has the potential to impact thousands, or millions, of people. Being prepared ahead of time, keeping your pet in good health, and filling out the necessary paperwork can help you avoid legal troubles.

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