PETS Process In Detail - January 2012 Onward

Yep, as long as the vaccination doesn't lapse, you're fine.

Much simpler than it was! I'm glad I found this board then - I would have been vaccinationg my poor kitty in April to get him prepared for Oct. :s

If you don't mind me asking, what was your experience with flying the animals cargo? If you flew them cargo, I mean.

If you don't mind me asking, what was your experience with flying the animals cargo? If you flew them cargo, I mean.

Other than the price, I was quite pleased with it. They were fine with my pets going unaccompanied, and being dropped off/picked up by different people, and both my boys came through unscathed. (Though if you ask my cat, he'll say he has permanent psychological damage ) The staff were friendly and helpful, and even agreed to get rid of my giant dog crate for me, and gave me a leash for my dog (it was supposed to come with him, but got lost in transit).

Other than the price, I was quite pleased with it. They were fine with my pets going unaccompanied, and being dropped off/picked up by different people, and both my boys came through unscathed. (Though if you ask my cat, he'll say he has permanent psychological damage ) The staff were friendly and helpful, and even agreed to get rid of my giant dog crate for me, and gave me a leash for my dog (it was supposed to come with him, but got lost in transit).

I have to admit, when I called Delta I was NOT expecting that man to tell me my 15 lbs. cat was going to cost $680 to fly, or that the Uk charged an additional $700 something to handle him. But he's worth it - and thankfully my fiance has fallen in love with him as well, lol. Although not having to pay for the test will be a bit of a relief now, as well as not feeling so time constrained - kind of.

I"m more than sure though Jasper (our cat) will hate me for the rest of his days for this little adventure I'm taking him on. :p

I have to admit, when I called Delta I was NOT expecting that man to tell me my 15 lbs. cat was going to cost $680 to fly, or that the Uk charged an additional $700 something to handle him.

Yeah, some airlines include the handling fee in their price quotes, others don't. It works out to be about the same price either way, though.

DEFRA has updated their site with the info about tick/tapeworm.

(dogs only): before entering the UK, all pet dogs (including assistance dogs) must be treated for tapeworm. The treatment must be administered by a vet not less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours (1-5 days) before its scheduled arrival time in the UK.

There is no mandatory requirement for tick treatment.

Instead of clogging this section up with question after question, I figured I would just post it here.

I'm getting my cat (or have made the appointment) microchipped next Tues. No reason really, just to get it out of the way since it's the first step. I was on DEFRA's website tonight since I knew there would be changes after the 1st and wnated to make sure I was still on top of things and noticed they are replacing the current third country certificate which is due out sometime this month.

I went on down and saw this:

"The new third country certificate is valid for the same period but it must be used to enter the EU within 10 days of its issue."

So does this mean (just to make sure I'm reading this right) that I can' get the new certificate signed until 10 days before we travel (which is the length of time my airline requires on their health certificate as well!) and actually, I can't get the kitty microchipped until the new certificate comes out because the vet has to record things about the microchip when he does it?

Just to let everyone know who may not already know DEFRA has updated and now has listed the new third country certificate. Apparently they've done it differently and certain ones are for more than one pet or so. I BELIEVE ANNEX II is for single animals entering the UK.

Is the Third Country Certificate the only document I need to move my cat?  The EC 998 was mentioned before, but is this now outdated and non-applicable?

Is there only a pdf copy of this form?  Do I fill it in by hand?  Can my local vet do this, or do I also need to get it signed by the USDA?
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:343:0065:0076:EN:PDF [nofollow]

After I get my cat into the UK, do I need to get him a passport, or can he just stay?

I plan on only being in the UK for 2 years.  Is there anything special I need to do to get him back into the US?  It looks like he just needs to be revaccinated for rabies.

Thanks so much!  I really want to bring my little guy with me.

Is the Third Country Certificate the only document I need to move my cat?  The EC 998 was mentioned before, but is this now outdated and non-applicable?

EC 998 was the third country certificate, which has since been updated. You'll need to check with the airline on their requirements - AFAIK all require some sort of health form, but what form(s) they want (and whether they want them signed by just your vet or your vet and the USDA) depends on the airline.

Is there only a pdf copy of this form?  Do I fill it in by hand?  Can my local vet do this, or do I also need to get it signed by the USDA?

There was a Microsoft Word copy of the EC 998 form on the web - I don't know if anyone's made one for the new one. You can use a program that will annotate PDFs so you could enter the data that way, or you can fill it out by hand. You will need your local vet and the USDA vet to sign off on the form.

After I get my cat into the UK, do I need to get him a passport, or can he just stay?

As long as you keep his rabies vaccination up-to-date, you don't need a passport for your cat unless you want to take him elsewhere and then bring him back into the UK.

I plan on only being in the UK for 2 years.  Is there anything special I need to do to get him back into the US?  It looks like he just needs to be revaccinated for rabies.

Pretty much. Each state has its own requirements, but AFAIK they mainly just want a current rabies vaccine and a fit-to-fly statement.

I found this link last night that has some explanations for each field.  It was on the USDA website.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/animals/downloads/ee_an_no_le_fi.pdf

and this one is without the notes
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/animals/downloads/ee_non_com_pets.pdf

The notes do seem to say that the state USDA vet shouldn't sign off on the form until after the tapeworm treatment - which if true makes getting the form completion timing almost perfect of tapeworm treatment, signature, and then travel.

Hoping someone can help me clarify things in my mind - am not getting much information out of the Delta agent or the pet relocation companies that want me to hire them.

My dog was microchipped/rabies vaccinated/blood tested as per the old rules, last  year. His vaccine hasn't needed a booster since that time, so we should be good to go apart from the paperwork involved. Is this correct?

We plan to move towards the end of June. I can't book his ticket til 14 days prior til the flight I want us both to be on. No problem there.

I'd planned to take him to the vet for his annual checkup within the next week or so, to get any shots/teeth cleaning/ear exam etc out of the way before crunch time.

My understanding is that the Defra Annex II form needs to be completed by my vet & signed by the USDA vet, which is 2.5 hrs from my house. No prob. Delta requires a vet health certificate. No prob.

The USDA clerk says that she must sign off on the forms *after* the tick treatment has been done, and that it'll take her 1-3 days turnaround time. Is this correct? If tick treatment can't be done til 5 days prior to checkin, that's not a lot of leeway - or did I misunderstand, and she just needs to sign off/return the vet health cert & the Annex II form, with the tick portion to be completed/signed off by  my local vet?? or do the same docs need to be shipped for USDA signature two separate times (Annex II form signed 10 days prior to travel & then again 5 days prior to check-in (6 days prior to travel) after tick treatment?)?

On the UK side, if we fly Delta, what precisely do I need to tell these agents that I need assistance with? I've emailed 3 firms, and only one has gotten back to me and seems determined to sell me a door-to-door package, which I don't need.  Do I just need someone to pick up my dog from the Delta cargo terminal and take him to the ARC, or is there a requirement I'm not aware of that means the transport person has a much bigger role?

I don't suppose ARC has any kind of van service for pet pickups, do they? I just find it hard to understand why I keep telling this person that all I need is someone to take him from T4 to ARC, and she's giving me a price on her flying down from NYC to meet me at the Atlanta airport to assist me with getting him on a flight that I myself am also going to be on.

Help....? I'm terribly confused.

ETA: mods if this is in the wrong thread, please move it. I posted here thinking it would help to clarify the doc signature/timing & UK-side procedure

If I were you I would call ARC at LHR directly to get some advice on the transport stuff.  I've found that they are the most helpful with dealing with that sort of stuff since they see it everyday.  They probably can answer your paperwork questions too as far as the timeline of things.  We just flew our dog over in March right when the rules were changing and found that ARC was much more helpful than even DEFRA themselves let alone the airlines.

I've found out answers to my questions - in the end I called the Animal Reception Centre, and only wish I had done so weeks ago instead of emailing with different pet transport companies.

ARC says the Annex II form gets prepared by the local vet & signed by the USDA vet, then closer to the flight date, local vet completes the tapeworm portion. USDA vet does not have to sign off on the tapeworm portion. ARC person verified this with someone else just to be sure.

Rabies vaccine doesn't need to be administered within a certain number of months of flying - as long as all boosters have been given on time, with no lapses, it's good to go.

I believe each airline has different rules regarding how animals can be presented to them for transport. I've decided to fly my dog on BA, and accdg to BA, will be allowed to hand over my dog & his paperwork directly to the BA cargo person. They'll weigh him/his crate and check over his paperwork, and give me a final price based on the total weight. At check-in, they collect all fees (airline ticket, taxes, customs clearance). My dog is apx 16lb and they estimated the fee to be about $1300.

ARC said to fax them all the paperwork once completed for review & they'll let me know before flying if any corrections need to be made.

BA works with JCS Cargo; they are a customs clearance agent & will handle getting  my dog cleared through customs. BA doesn't allow the public to do this themselves.

Once the dog is cleared through customs, BA's animal transport person will take my dog to the ARC, where he'll be checked over, watered, fed, etc and released to me upon final review of his paperwork.

You are *not required* to use a pet relocation company unless you feel you need professional help in getting the microchipping/rabies/paperwork requirements handled on your own. Of all the ones I emailed for info, the agent from Petrelocation.com was by far the most helpful. These companies specialize in complicated moves or those where the animal can't be moved at the same time as its family. If you do need help, I'd highly recommend Petrelocation.com (specifically Matt), but it is a completely optional service, and absolutely not required by the ARC.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for that updates info....I had no idea.  I just spoke to a USDA vet here in Dallas...he actually runs a pet relocation service , but he does just the certificates and stuff too.  Only chgs $180 per cat and sends all paperwork to USDA, ARC, BA.....everywhere.   This is a good deal to make sure my cats paperwork is perfect.    Everyone might ck with relocators by you to see if they can just do this service.  Makes me feel like I have a little less to worry about. 

I am so confused by this!

What does this statement mean: "the Annex II certificate is valid for entry into the EU for 10 days from the date of issue and remains valid for a total of four months from the date of issue for further intra-Community travel"

Does this mean I have to get my Annex II signed within the week before I intend to travel?  Is this the signature of the USDA vet, or my vet?  Could I get my vet to sign it months in advance (like 5mo), and then get the USDA signature closer to the travel date?

Where does the paperwork go?  Will my vet know where to send it to for the USDA approval?  Is this sent back to me, and do I just carry the Annex II with me when I travel, along with the airline 'fit to travel' document?

I am leaving for the UK before my cat travels, so I'm trying to figure out the time-line for his paperwork.  I thought I could get it done months in advance, but now I'm thinking I have to do it all within 10 days of his departure? 

Also, my cat was a rescue and came with a microchip several years ago.  How would I get a 'certified' document on this?  I don't think I have the records on when this was done.  He has his rabies vaccine, but it is with a different vet than who did the microchipping.

In general, does the vet that signs need to be the same vet that administered the vaccinations/microchips?  I have copies of his records, but we have moved away from that area now.  Can a different vet sign off, after viewing the vaccine records from the other?

Thank you so much!