How can I get a pet out of the country?
I have a 6-month-old dog I'd like to fly home with me when I leave China in a couple months, and am having a heck of a time figuring out what needs to be done. Has anyone done this before?
Getting him into the US is not a problem, but leaving the country is full of confusion.
I've heard that I need to get him checked and authorized for departure by the export department in the city of departure, and that any form by other export departments is useless. Then again, I've also been told you can only get the proper forms from BJ and Shanghai -- what about smaller cities like Qingdao? Would I have to go to BJ, get the forms with the dog, then go back to QD for the flight?
The BJ requirement is iffy in my eyes, because a relocation agency said I should first get documents in my city of registration, then take those and the dog to BJ for the (more official) forms. Waiting on the forms, the dog should stay in the agency's "pet hotel" at a rate of several hundred RMB/night.
Relocation agencies have also expressed that if I want to have the dog fly by cargo, rather than baggage, I will have to pay a $400 export/import fee in the US. I have yet to see this anywhere on the net, and can only guess they're trying to say that cargo flights are just more expensive than baggage or in-cabin flights.
A few airlines I've contacted require that you use agencies to book this -- do you know of any airlines that let you work by yourself?
I'm getting conflicting information from forum posts and my own investigations. Agencies are quoting me astronomical prices, and while I know it won't be cheap, I don't see how it should cost almost twice the cost of a regular airline ticket to get a dog abroad -- before agency fees.
So has anyone done this? Know someone who has? I'm trying to fight the good fight and figure out the truth here, but I'm close to caving and shelling out a couple thousand to just get it done.
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Biggest problem is that the health exam & certificate needs to be issued from the city from which you depart ... we were living in Qingdao but were leaving from Beijing (we moved back to Canada with our dog) ... got all our info from the following people:
www.icvsasia.com
Step 1: Rabies Vaccinations and the Official Vaccination Immunity Certificate
Check vaccination requirements for the country to which you are relocating. Requirements on vaccinations may vary country-by-country. Owners must check with the embassy or Department of Agriculture or Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of the country to which the pets are relocating for accurate guidelines on vaccination requirements. Generally, vaccination dates should be over one month but less than one year before departure. Owners relocating to the United States must have their pets vaccinated at least one-month before but no more than 12-months prior to entering the USA. Owners should also check to make sure that pets receive required distemper vaccinations prior to departure.
To exit from China, the Entry/Exit Quarantine Bureau of the PRC requires that all animals must have been rabies vaccinated at an official animal vaccination hospital in the PRC and have the official Vaccination Immunity Certificate (e.g., in Beijing, it is the “vaccination red book”). The rabies vaccination must have been administered at least 30-days before departure date but no more than 12-months before the departure date.
For any pet owners who may be leaving China within the next 6-months or more and have not yet had their pets vaccinated for rabies or canine/feline distemper, the International Center for Veterinary Services (ICVS) is a legally authorized Rabies Vaccination Animal Hospital in Beijing that can provide official rabies, distemper and other vaccinations for your pets. ICVS can issue an official vaccination immunity certificate or “vaccination red book” for each pet. This “vaccination red book” will be needed as official proof that pets have been rabies vaccinated and will also be required to obtain the official “Animal Health Certificate” needed for exit.
ICVS strongly recommends owners to have their pets undergo a complete health exam at the time of vaccinations or before departure to ensure that pets are fit for travel. The stresses of travel and potential exposure to transmissible diseases from other animals during transit pose very real health risks for pets. ICVS veterinarians and medical staff can to assist pets and their owners to help minimize travel related health risks.
Please call ICVS reception to schedule an appointment for your pet’s vaccinations and to receive your official “vaccination red books.”
ICVS Reception: (8610) 8456-1939/1940/1941. E-mail: [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Step 2: Health examination for exit
After your pets have received their vaccinations and the official “vaccination red books” at ICVS, pet owners will need to schedule an appointment for an exit health examination for their pets at the designated government quarantine bureau animal hospital, Guan Shang. Owners can schedule the exit health examination 7-days prior to the date of the animal’s departure from China. Your pets will undergo a brief examination that may include blood tests, urine and stool checks. Once completed, you will be issued a “Beijing International Companion Animal Health Inspection Form,” which is required to obtain the official “Animal Health Certificate” from the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. Fees will be charged for the examination and the tests. Owners are advised to bring cash (e.g., RMB 800.00+ per pet) at the time of the visit.
NOTE: The quarantine bureau animal hospital may refuse appointments for the health exam that are scheduled earlier than 7-days before departure.
Step 3: “Animal Health Certificate” (e.g., exit permit)
Guan Shang Animal Hospital will inform you of the location of the main office of the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau where you will need to go within 7-days prior to departure from China with your pet. You will be issued the official “Animal Health Certificate” (e.g., exit permit) for your pet at this government office. Bring your “vaccination red book” from ICVS, the “Beijing International Companion Animal Health Inspection Form,” and any other official documents to the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. Please note that the “Animal Health Certificate” is good for 14 days once issued. Please check with Guan Shang Animal Hospital and the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau for the latest updates on how long the health certificate is valid once issued. It is not uncommon for these government agencies to revise their policies without prior notice.
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One other thing ... if you are planning on flying with your pet during the summer, many airlines have restrictions on pets flying during the summer ... Air Canada for instance will not fly pets (in cargo) between June 30 (?) and end September due to heat issues for the pets sitting on the tarmac waiting to be loaded.
Also, Chinese airlines can refuse to load your pet at the last minute, for no reason.
We took our pet to BJ (our departure point) by car but she came in the cabin with us as carryon so we were assured she'd make it home with us.
We recently moved across the country (by plane) with our golden retriever. I'm pretty sure the Chinese regulations for shipping pets by plane are the same whether it's domestic or international, but I would maybe check with Globy.
We were going to go through the process ourselves, and get all the appropriate paperwork done, but it was looking like much the headache you described above.
In the end we went with a small company out of Shanghai that arranged everything for us. We sent a deposit, all the details about the dog, a photo (I think) and they took care of everything for us.
They made sure we were on the same flight as our dog (not always guaranteed -- at least domestically). The day of travel they picked us all up in Suzhou, dropped us at the airport and then took our dog back to their offices to build a wooden outer crate for her travel cage and take her to the airport.
On the other end we found out (unexpectedly) that she was shipped as "live cargo" and so we had to pick her up not at the over-sized luggage area, but at a facility a couple kilometres away.
The whole ordeal was painful and expensive. Again it was domestic, but shipping her was twice our plane ticket costs (about 1800-2000RMB when all was said and done). She's a pretty big dog though, and a lot of that cost was just the weight-based costs of shipping her (and the crate). If you have a smaller dog, it would be cheaper than a big dog (but internationally, it's all sure to be much more than the price above).
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