Bringing a rabbit to the UK from USA

Hi,

I'm just learning the process of things for now and finding out some of the more complicated parts so we know what my wife would have to do in regard to her animals.

Basically upon reading through various websites I found that rabbits would require going into quarantine, does anyone have a rought idea on length of time and sort of costs this would occur or would it be best to phone the places direct?

If it works out too long in quarantine and/or costly, might have to make other arrangements, but she'd rather avoid this.

She would be bringing her dog with her, from what I understand this is a fairly simple process granted all the requirements are met for health and the pet passport before flying and can be booked onto same flight which going to find out the costs with British Airways(unless someone has an idea on this) as they don't state their prices, they also use an external supplier to arrange this but they do not state prices and it would be cheaper to do a direct flight for my wife with them than to do a flight with United and having to do a layover which could be more stressful for the dog.

I don't have any firsthand experience with importing rabbits, but here's the official site. It lists 4 months of quarantine:
https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-animals-plants-into-uk/pets-and-other-animals

I'd suggest you contact the import centre they link to there. I don't want to give you any wrong information.

The dog can avoid quarantine as long as you see a vet who can complete the paperwork for you. The paperwork has to be done within 10 days before you depart and then endorsed by the USDA. You can overnight the paperwork to the USDA with a return shipping label in order to get it back in time. USDA offices are listed here: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/service-centers-endorsement-offices

The information on dogs is here:
https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad

EDIT: Ask your vet if they will complete the pet certificate paperwork. Not all vets will. I had to go to a Banfield Hospital location in order to get the paperwork done. And it will cost money for the appointment!

decided would be best to rehome the rabbit nearer the time, the dog however, the process seems rather confusing and overwhelming

decided would be best to rehome the rabbit nearer the time, the dog however, the process seems rather confusing and overwhelming

There is always the option of hiring a third-party pet transport agency to take care of a lot of this for you.  I did it all on my own but there are people here on the forum who have experience with third parties and can offer recommendations.

For the dog, it's not really that bad to do it yourself. It's just a lot to do in a short period of time. The link above gives you all the details, but the short version is like this -

More than 21 days before arrival:
- Get the dog microchipped (if not already)
- Get a rabies vaccine

Within 5 days of arrival (this is 5 days instead of 10 because of the tapeworm treatment):
- Have vet complete veterinary certificate, which includes microchip and rabies information - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pet-travel-certificate-for-movement-of-dogs-cats-and-ferrets-from-third-countries
- Get tapeworm treatment and have vet record in certificate
- Send certificate to USDA to be endorsed, including overnight return shipping label

You will also need to complete a Transfer of Residence (ToR) document to declare that you're importing a pet: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-transfer-of-residence-tor-relief-tor01   This replaces the old C5 form which you might see mentioned on this forum.

That takes care of the paperwork side of things. Beyond that you also need to:
- Contact your airline to book travel for the dog
- Contact the animal reception centre at the airport you are arriving at
- Ensure you have a crate/kennel that meets the airline's requirements - you'll probably need to buy a new one; this also requires metal nuts to fasten and zip ties to seal the doors and top
- Have food and shredded paper bedding for the crate
- The dog must arrive within 5 days of your arrival, or you'll need to make alternate arrangements to have someone pick them up

It's a lot to deal with but if you made it through the visa process, it's not as bad! You can do it 

It's because of the quarantine time we've decided to leave the rabbit behind, the airline we'd use would likely be united, but they state no plastic kennels but the main ones you find are plastic or the cage like ones which can't be used, but the process for the dog seems confusing,but it might just because of my new shift pattern at work I don't get much sleep, my wife also found it more confusing than myself and found on the USDA website that one part says tapeworm within 5 days of arriving in the eu, then another part says within 5 days of departing