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Animal Welfare

Pet Travel

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Basic Statements

Various U. S. Government Agencies have rules for pet imports, especially the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and units of USDA.

Neither USDA nor CDC requires a health certificate for routine pet imports, but CDC requires proof of Rabies Vaccination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires proof of rabies vaccination for all imported dogs (Click here for CDC rules).

CDC also has rules concerning other imported animals. Please review CDC's Frequently Asked Questions concerning which animals can be imported. Animals mentioned on this page include, but is not limited to, horses, cats, turtles, bats, birds, snakes fish, monkeys, civets, rodents, rabbits and others.

USDA will not permit foreign substances such as native grass, soil, fresh meat, or vegetables to enter the country (plant and animal disease is the concern). Please review the USDA National Center for Import and Export (NCIE) website for more details.

Each U. S. State has their own requirements for health and/or rabies vaccination certification. (Click here to see State Requirements).

Some countries require an Heath Certificate and or proof of rabies vaccination signed by a U. S. government official. To find the nearest office that can do this, please go to this website: (USDA State Offices)

If you are taking a pet to another country, you may wish to contact that country's consulate or embassy for information. A listing of consulates can be found at: http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/fco/ ( US Department of State website).

The United Kingdom;s (UK) requirements for import of pets can be found at this website.

Information on European Union (EU) pet import rules (and pet passports) are at this website

The International Airline Transportation Association (IATA), a membership organization that prints animal transportation rules for its members has some guidelines and statements concerning dog and cat shipments. http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/live_animals/index.htm

There are companies that specalize in transporting pets - for a price. They are called "Immediate Handlers" or more simply, Animal Transporters or Animal Relocators. These businesses are licensed and inspected by USDA/APHIS's Animal Care Unit. Many of the animal transporters are listed on the member pages of the International Pet Animal Transportation Association (IPATA) web pages. Those not listed on that member site can be found in the yellow pages or via a web search. Using a pet transporter or relocator is not the most economical method of ensuring the safety of you pet, but they can help ensure the safety of your pet and take care of all the details of transporting your pet from your home to your destination.

USDA standards for shipping dogs and cats can be found in Part 3, Standards of the Animal Welfare Regulations. See sections 3.13 through 3.19.

The Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) has security procedures for traveling with a pet. You shoould review them before traveling.

Airline have various animal transport rules. If traveling by air, please check with the airline well in advance of travel. A few airline Transport website's are listed below (more later):

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Last Modified: September 7, 2007