Exporting animals to Australia from New Zealand

 

The following information is intended as a guide to requirements for taking your pets with you to Australia.   For further information, talk to us at the clinic.

 

1. You can take your dog and cat with you to Australia without the need for quarantine providing they have been resident in NZ since birth or since direct importation from Australia. 

You need to:

a)      Write and sign a statement that the animal has only lived in NZ since birth.

b)      Provide the vet with council registration records or veterinary records (if your pet has previously been under the care of another practice) as evidence that your pet has been resident in NZ since birth.

     

If your pet has not been resident in NZ since birth please contact the clinic for further information.

 

2. Your pet must:
   1. Be more than 2 months of age unless accompanied by its mum
   2. Not be more than 42 days pregnant at time of export
   3. Not be one of the following breeds- dogo Argentino, fila Brazileiro, Japanese tosa, Pit bull terrier, or American Pit Bull terrier.

 

3. Health requirements
   1. Your pet should be up to date with yearly vaccinations and worming regime for its benefit, but it is not a requirement for export.
   2. Your pet must be examined by a certified vet within 72 hours of travel.  If fit and well, the vet will sign an export certificate that will travel with the pet.

 

4. Transportation
   1. The dog/ cat must be transported in accordance with the container requirements specified in the International Transport Association (IATA) Live Animals regulations.  These specify, among other things that the container must:

a)      Be strong enough to prevent the animal escaping

b)      Have ventilation openings on all sides totalling a minimum of 16% of the surface area of the 4 sides but these shall be of a size that it is impossible for the animal to protrude its nose or paws outside the container.

c)      Be large enough to permit the animal to stand in a natural position, turn around and lie down. 

Contact your airline for further information

 

 

 

Exporting to the United Kingdom

The UK PETS Scheme, allowing the entry of pets into the UK from NZ, has certain requirements. These are outlined below. 

The entire process of preparing your pet for transport to the UK will take at least 7 months to complete.

The animal will be required to:

• Be fitted with a microchip
• Be vaccinated against Rabies and have a blood test to confirm satisfactory level of protection
• Have a vet administer treatment against fleas, ticks, and tapeworm
• Be issued with an official MAF export certificate
• Receive all other relevant documentation

The first 3 requirements may be completed by The Vet Centre. The final 3 requirements are to be completed by an official MAF government vet.

Microchipping

This is the first job to be done! The pet must be microchipped before the Rabies vaccination course can be started.

The microchip must meet ISO (international standards organisation) standards (the microchips used by The Vet Centre do meet this standard). This ensures that the chip will be able to be read when scanned by overseas scanners.

Rabies Vaccination

To start the vaccination course, the pet must be over 3 months of age and microchipped.

Ideally, the pet will need a course of 2 vaccinations, 30 days apart. This will ensure the antibody level will be equal to, or greater than, the required level.

If you are wanting to make an appointment at The Vet Centre, for your pets first vaccination, please allow approximately one week from your phone call, to the appointment, as the vaccine must be ordered in.

Blood Testing

30 days after your pet’s second Rabies vaccination, they will be required to have a blood test to prove the development of their immunity against Rabies.

This blood test must be taken at least 6 months prior to the pet’s travel date.

The vet will take a 2ml blood sample from your pet and send it to the lab for processing. The results may take up to 4 weeks to be received.

Treatment against Ticks and Tapeworm

Between 24 and 48 hours before travel, the pet must be treated against ticks and a certain type of tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis). This is done with products such as Frontline Plus for fleas and Drontal Allwormer for worms.

The Vet must administer these treatments and sign paperwork to show that it has been done.

PETS Certification and Animal Welfare Certificate

These must be completed by an official government vet.

Please see the link to the list of official veterinarians on the website listed on the back page of this hand out.

Pet Transporters

These companies can make your life a lot easier when it comes to the official government vet certificates, the hire or buying of crates/cages and many other parts of the process.

Please contact us for further information regarding approved pet transporters based around the country and we can forward a list to you if required.

For official, more in-depth details about your travel please go to the below website:

UK PETS Scheme – MAF website: www.biosecurity.govt.nz/exports/animals/uk-pets-scheme.htm