British Airways World Cargo?

Hi, I gotta question regarding the pet process. I just want to make sure I have things squared away? Also, if anyone has used BA world cargo pet service and reads this, please reply/PM me to let me know how it went?

I'm shipping my lovely cat via British Airways World Cargo from Baltimore to London, and then on to Edinburgh where my husband will pick him up. I'm going to ship him the last week of June. I was told that when I officially book the cat's flights that I'll have his itinerary, they'll take my contact info and my husband's in Scotland. Apparently he will fly overnight to London, have 6 hours to get through kitty customs, and then they ship him on to Edinburgh. They said it'll be about $1300.

From what I understand, I have to have Annex II completed, as well as the US Certificate of Health Examination (APHIS Form 7001), the latter needs to be signed off by the USDA vet, right?
Also, does anyone have an example of a completed Annex II? It looks really confusing with all the diagonal slashes.

My plan is to have the forms filled out, have my local vet sign off, then have the USDA sign the paperwork at the end of the 3rd week of June and ship him the last week.

Somehow this is scarier than anything else I've had to do for the immigration. He's a poor skittish cat, and I'm so worried for him. 

In 2009 when I flew my dog with BA, they didnt need the APHIS form.  They just wanted a letter from the vet saying the dog was fit to fly. My vet did end up providing the APHIS form and they were fine with it.  It doenst need to be signed by THE USDA vet (as in the head guy who has to sign off the other paperwork), it only need to be signed by your vet (assuming he/she is USDA accredited).  Remember, though, this was back in 2009, so YMMV.

I have no idea what you mean by Annex II, so perhaps this is new (?)

My experience with BA cargo was absolutely fine - they were helpful and kind, although I would never put my dog through it again. She was 11 years old at the time and was highly stressed for many days afterwards. I also believe that it contibuted to her hearing loss (she is now deaf).

I'd suggest getting some Feliway for your home when your cat arrives - it can help with the stress.

Thank you so much for your reply. It really helps to hear from others who have gone through it. I'm sorry your dog lost her hearing; I've heard of that happening to dogs. 

The Annex II is the Vet certificate to EU. I've seen a few other old posts (last 3 months), so maybe I'll check those again. A few people were asking for examples of filled out forms, so maybe they have some info to pass on. I think it's a requirement for a USDA vet to sign off now. My vet said I would have to go to Annapolis for their stamp/ seal. It looks like the form changed Nov. 2010.

I'll look into the Feliway today. My cat is only 3 yrs old, but he's very skittish. I really worry he's going to be traumatized.

Ahh yes, the EC998 form has changed dramatically since I did it, so I can't help there. Sorry!  But I can verify that your vet is right that this form defintely has to be signed off by the USDA vet. 

I still don't think the APHIS form needs a USDA signature since it is supposed to be filled out 48 hours before travel by your own vet who does an examination on the animal.

Hi,

I'll be flying on BA along with my dog to Heathrow in early July. This Saturday, my vet plans to issue the paperwork that we need.

What I found most helpful/least confusing was to just call the ARC at Heathrow, and go over the paperwork requirements with them. Another resource is JCS Livestock, the Customs agent used by BA. I emailed with a lady there today, and she confirmed the documents list that was laid out for me by the ARC clerk:

Defra Annex II form, signed by local vet & USDA vet
APHIS 7001 form, aka International Health Certificate, signed by local vet & USDA vet (so says the USDA vet I spoke to last week)
Microchip certificate
Rabies certificate - USDA vet also wants this sent to him
C5 Customs form - BA will send your contact details to JCS, and JCS will email the form/instructions to you - it's very straightforward, and gets emailed back to them prior to flying; this is what they use to clear your animal through Customs, prior to the ARC releasing the pet

A couple of caveats; I spoke to 3 different USDA people, and the last one happened to ask me if I was flying on the same plane as my dog; at the time, I didn't think I would be. He said that Annex II is only for "accompanied pets," whereas Annex I is for "unaccompanied pets". Annex I has a smaller window for tapeworm treatment. He offered a workaround option, something along the lines of filling out both forms, having both signed and abiding by the tighter tapeworm deadline, but in the end it worked out better for me to just be on the same plane - so I'm OK with Annex II. *He could have been totally wrong* throughout all of this research, I've gotten many conflicting answers, which is why I say it's easiest to just call the ARC and get the info straight from them.

Also about Annex II, be sure all of the dates are within 10 days of ARRIVAL in the UK, not 10 days of check-in at the airport. The tapeworm treatment sign-off is confusing; the USDA vet said technically it's supposed to be signed off on him AFTER the tapeworm treatment is given, but since most people do not have enough time to work with to get the form to the State's vet, work within their turnaround time and then have it back in-hand before they fly out, he told me to "listen between the lines" and have my local vet fill that portion out with the date he intended to do the tapeworm treatment, and the USDA vet would sign off as normal. By the time the tape treatment had been done & signed by my local vet, nobody on the UK side would be the wiser. A bit tricky and not really in the spirit of the form, but a real-life solution to a very tight timeframe.

APHIS 7001 also  has a 10-day validity window if it's also being used as an Airline Health Certificate, which BA does require (same form can serve as meeting BA's requirement as well as filling the International Health Certificate requirement, but only if it's issued within 10 days or less of travel, as per USDA's website)

Both the ARC & JCS Livestock offered to review my paperwork for me before I head to the airport; I think the ARC sometimes pre-clear paperwork to make processing go a little quicker when the animal is actually there, so it's helpful to them too to have it in advance.

Hope some of this is helpful; I'm nervous for my dog's sake also, but I look it as just something we have to go through to stay together. Some of the rules may differ for dogs vs. cats, but since I'm days away from starting the paperwork you were asking about, I wanted to reply  Good luck!!

Thanks for the info. The tapeworm rules don't apply to cats. I'm getting the Aphis 2007 and Annex II signed off on by both my vet & the USDA vet tomorrow; he leaves the US on Tuesday/ arrives in the UK Wednesday.

One question about the C5 form - do you put your name or the animal's name on the first page?
I emailed them a photocopy of the form, but heard no reply. I tried to fax the form today, but I've yet to hear anything back. I'm a little worried as I wonder if this is cutting a bit fine time-wise.

On the C5, I filled my name out on page 1 - if you look at page 2, they ask for "Details of Pet," so I think that's where any animal-related info would go.

I emailed my completed C5 to my contact at JCS Livestock yesterday, and when she emailed back she didn't say they were any errors, so I"m presuming that everything was right.

Are cats subject to the microchip rule? If so, remember to get your 'Microchip Certificate' - I'd been told by someone at my vet's that they could issue it; this evening I found out it's issued by the chip company. I've been filling out their form/emailing it to them/begging for its speedy processing for the last 3 hours.

Beginning to wonder if it was easier to get a spouse visa than it is to get all these pet documents together - my vet made some glaring errors on the forms he did for me today, so I have to go back tomorrow to get them fixed. Argh!

I finally got a reply from JCS. I got my Aphis 7001 and Annex II filled out and signed/ stamped by both the vet and the USDA vet. As far as I know for cats, they have to be microchipped prior to their rabies vax, and as long as it's in that order and the reader can scan the chip, it should be ok. Haven't heard anything about a microchip certificate. Great...one more thing to worry about. 

I agree about the spouse visa! If we had a larger time-frame other than 10-frickin'-days this would be so much easier. Honestly I don't know why it has to be 10 days, other than to give us hell.