Pet Travel News

Ask Jessica Nickler about her favorite moves and her face lights up about helping clients move to Australia and New Zealand. "It's a personal and professional challenge. From start to finish clients need to plan ahead six months. I have the opportunity to work with clients long enough to create a relationship that I hope they find as rewarding as I do," she said.

Australia and New Zealand do not have rabies, so their animal import regulations guard their country's bio-security. Jessica manages two to three Australia and New Zealand each month completing nearly 80 moves in four years. She shared three things which are really important.

1) Following the DAFF Veterinary protocol is critical to a successful move.  If something isn't done correctly at any step the move will be delayed. Every required test and treatment must be done by a USDA-accredited veterinarian. A veterinarian who has applied for accreditation is not good enough. They must be certified at the time of the blood draw. Even if the veterinarian is experienced in international pet travel, we recommend allowing Air Animal to handle the timeline and documentation.  Dog owners should expect a minimum of at least four veterinary visits and cat owners should expect a minimum of three visits to complete the required protocols.

"There are two types of rabies antibody titer tests--FAVN-OIE and RFFIT. Only the FAVN-OIE is acceptable in Australia and New Zealand. The testing must be run at the approved lab or it won't be accepted," she warned.

2) Acclimating pets to the flight kennel is important. Pets moving to Australia and New Zealand are often in their kennels for 20-24 hours. The flight itself is around 16 hours. Add in drop off and pick up times on either end and it adds up. "If your pet feels the kennel is theirs--it's their safe space--it reduces anxiety. Unfortunately, there's no way to cut down the flight time for a move to this region," she said.

3) A minimum 10 days of quarantine is required. "Australia and New Zealand animal quarantine is a no man's land of information because their number one mission is bio-security. You will not get updates and photos from quarantine. The adage of no news is good news, is applicable for quarantine in this region," Jessica advised.  Quarantine extensions beyond the mandatory 10 days are rare.

Many times, the family needs to relocate ahead of the pet and leaves their loved one in the care of family or a caretaker who is left to complete the final protocols for the pet’s departure. Communication between all parties is critical. Air Animal works to identify all the parties who will be responsible for the many moving parts early in the move. This often means speaking with the owners after hours due to time differences. Everyone must be on the same page.

"I'm thankful clients trust me and my pet moving team members to manage all the details for such a long journey for their family pets. And, I have many fond memories to go with the thank yous. One family sent me a framed photo of their dog wrapped in the Australian and American flags. Murphy was an Air Animal Facebook cover dog for several months."

Pet dogs, cats and ferrets vaccinated for rabies in "unlisted" countries may be quarantined for three months or returned to the United States when entering the UK, according to new guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service.

This applies even when the vaccines themselves have been approved for use in the United States.

If your pet’s most recent rabies vaccination occurred in a country that is NOT listed in the file below, Air Animal recommends re-vaccinating pets in one of the countries in the list. The pet must not travel for 21 days and must meet all the other criteria for UK entry. UK quarantine can be quite expensive, and travel stress your pet may experience could be compounded by being separated from you.

When traveling internationally with a pet, we also recommend you carry vaccination records that indicate the pet’s microchip ID, date of rabies vaccination, vaccine manufacturer, vaccine serial number, the date the vaccination expires and veterinarian’s name and address. Air Animal clients may use our free mobile app so all this information is available anytime in your phone or desktop browser.

Countries with Rabies Vaccination Protocols Accepted by the UK
Part I 
Countries referred to in Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013
Andorra, Switzerland, Faeroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Vatican City State.

Part II
Countries and included territories referred to in Article 12(2) of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013
Ascension Island; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Australia; Aruba; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Barbados; Bahrain; Bermuda; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (the BES Islands); Belarus; Canada; Chile; Curacao; Fiji; Falkland Islands; Hong Kong; Jamaica; Japan; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Cayman Islands; Saint Lucia; Montserrat; Mauritius; Mexico; Malaysia; Mayotte; New Caledonia; New Zealand; French Polynesia; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Russia; Singapore, Saint Helena; Sint Maarten; Trinidad and Tobago; Taiwan; United Arab Emirates; United States of America including American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; British Virgin Islands; Vanatu; Wallis and Futuna.

How do companies handle pet relocation as part of their global mobility programs? Ignoring pets can be a deal-breaker for employees who consider their pets as family members. In our experience about 50 percent of companies provide pet relocation benefits for dogs and cats.

Bodhi's pet parent was relocated across the country by his company. Ask about your company's pet relocation benefits if you are offered a transfer. LEARN MORE

We've moved over 100,000 pets all over the globe and we've learned a thing or two about services that reduce stress for Fortune 500 employees, service members with PCS orders and families. That's why we offer a menu of concierge services that fits every family and every move.

Our concierge services include streamlined health certificates. Perfect for pets who are small enough to travel in cabin. Check out our U.S. Customs clearance, airport concierge and mobile app. We also build custom and kennel extensions for pets we move across the U.S. or around the globe. Foxy posed with her extended travel kennel before her flight to Singapore.

LEARN MORE

Pet Moving Made Easy® is our passion and our promise to you. You may not know that digging the details is in our DNA. Everyone on our pet moving team is a logistics expert at heart. We back them up with an extensive client service system and a new mobile app.

Every client gets to know their pet move manager personally. Our pet movers give clients their office and cell numbers. Clients can communicate—even after business hours--using email or the app.

Clients choose from three service levels. (https://airanimal.com/pricing-pet-moves.cfm)

• VIP Door-to-Door is our most popular option. We include residential pickup and delivery at the destination, airport terminal services, commercial airline cargo charges and health certificate reviews.
• Pet Express works well for clients who can take their pet to the airport before they leave or pick up their pet at the destination airport. It includes residential pickup at origin or destination residential delivery, commercial airline cargo charges and health certificate reviews.
• Book & Fly is our self service option that works well for budget-minded clients. Book & Fly works best when a friend or family member delivers and picks up the pet on each end of the flight. The basic package includes commercial airline cargo charges, pre-flight checklist guide and health certificate reviews. Book & Fly clients deliver and pick-up their own pets at the airport cargo offices.

Like flights for people, pet moving costs are based on service level, concierge services requested, the weight of the pet inside the travel kennel and the length of the flight. We post our domestic  and international pricing online along with details about our service levels.

We’re all about the details, clear communication and getting your pet to your new home safely.

Don’t see the information you’re seeking on airanimal.com? Our intake coordinators are often available through LiveChat on the website. You can give us a call. If you have details about your upcoming relocation, request an estimate online.When you request an estimate, your pet mover will give you access to our new mobile app.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Britain’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is using the following criteria to determine appropriate rabies documentation for pet dogs, cats and ferrets entering the United Kingdom:

• If a microchip was not implanted before rabies vaccination, then all previous rabies vaccinations are invalid.
• The first rabies vaccination after microchip implantation is considered the "primary vaccine," and is ONLY valid for one-year, regardless of whether the animal has been current on all prior rabies vaccinations.
• Therefore, if an animal travels more than 12 months after the first rabies vaccination post-microchip, then the owner must provide documentation that a booster was given within 12 months of this "primary vaccine."
• If the owner cannot provide such documentation, then the animal will be re-vaccinated and held 21 days in quarantine in the UK at the owner's expense.

Air Animal follows this specific DEFRA protocol so our clients are not delayed by short-term quarantines when they arrive in the UK.

Air Animal helped Pearl, a toy poodle, and her pet parents relocate successfully to the UK this spring.

Even though the United Kingdom may have ruled your household goods are exempt from Her Majesty’s Value Added Tax, you must list your pet(s) because they may be subject to VAT.

As soon as you know your PCS post is to the UK, go online and complete a Transfer of Residence form listing household goods, cars and your pets. The UK will send you a TOR reference number.

Not having a TOR reference number will not prohibit your pet from entering the UK. But, you may have to pay VAT on arrival. If you do pay, you have 12 months to apply for reimbursement.

We highly recommend using Air Animal’s Destination Pet Express for all active duty military personnel moving pets to Okinawa, Japan; Catania, Italy; and other island posts. Both Japan and Italy have only two or three airports that have Custom’s clearance for pets. That means the pets land and then either transfer to a domestic airline or travel by land and ferry to reach your new post.

These transfers can add $2,500 to $3,500 to the base cost of a move. Air Animal Destination Pet Express handles the details from the airport to your new post home so you don’t have to. “If you’re being stationed on an island, request an estimate online as soon as you get written or verbal orders,” advises Jessica, international pet move manager. “We’ll get back to you in two business days.”