Overseas Travel -- Jenday Conure

[hiriki]

So I'm a student planning to live abroad in Japan. It's my dream, but so is bird rescue. Given the relative instability of overseas life (will I need to return to the US for family reasons, etc), whatever bird I get will need to be able to come in and out of both Japanese and American borders.

I've done some research, I know Jendays are in appendix II of CITES and that I would need to have a banded and chipped bird and I'd need to determine sex. But past that, I don't know much. And since I'm rescuing, I called my rescue and they told me their birds (being rescue cases) don't have papers proving they were born in captivity and not captured--which might be a huge problem?

I'm not expecting concrete answers, but who should I call? I absolutely don't want to rescue until I'm sure Im able to keep the bird for the rest of its life. But I'm absolutely not going to a breeder--only rescue. It seems like it SHOULD be possible but it's doubtful that rescue situations were written into CITES legislation.

Any advice is appreciated, even if you aren't familiar with CITES. Thanks

 

[weco]

There are several agencies that transport and/or do the paperwork for importing/exporting birds to and from the U.S., you might want to contact one of them, they could give you current requirements for both Japan and getting back into the U.S., but valid export documents should be all you would need to return a bird to the U.S. except/unless there were any disease question involved.....

Good luck.....

 

[EnglishMuffin]

I posted this in another thread today:

Bobbyfeathers;

I recently moved from Vancouver, Canada to Liverpool, England with my YSGCC.

Firstly re: transat flights- air transat and united airways allow in-cabin travel on long haul flights. However, some individual EU countries (UK included) won't allow any pets to arrive in their soil in the cabin, because of various disease restriction laws. So you have to check the laws for each country you lay over in.

Secondly: for every country you layover in, you need both an import and export permit. You also need a clearance company in those countries to handle vet checks on the bird before she goes onto her next flight. Each clearance company will charge you around $500 for their services. Export and import permits are usually free, although some may charge some nominal fee around $80. CITES papers cost about $120 and again, you need both import and export papers.

All the paperwork has to be arranged ahead of time, and it takes months. It took me four months to get everything together but I was right down to the wire, getting my final paperwork through only days before my flight. Don't forget if you're dealing with mainland european countries like croatia where they are known for dodgey beurocracy, you'll need to allow yourself more time. Give yourself 8 months at least and don't make any solid travel plans before you have all the paperwork in place.

The total cost for me bringing Sootie to the UK was just around $2000, by the end of it. If you have multiple layovers, you can add a $500 charge for each layover destination for the clearing company's fees, as I said.

As far as stress levels go: Mine with through the roof but Sootie was completely unbothered. She was in handling for a total of about 18 hours, between being dropped off at cargo in canada and picked up in the UK (she traveled in the cargo hold). I checked her carrier and there were a couple of BIG poops, so she must have slept for at least a few hours. She'd eaten a lot of her food and even shredded the one toy I left in there, so she'd been playing and pooping and eating normally during the time. She showed no signs of stress when I got her back, apart from being obviously relieved and excited to see me.

Each bird is different though. She's a total warrior. She's not afraid of anything and she's been exposed to a lot of new and strange things since she was a baby so she takes well to new experiences.

If you can afford to do it, then I wouldn't let fear of stress hold you back. But don't forget that I was flying only one way- I'd have to pay everything over double if I fly back to Canada. If you're planning a return trip you have to pay for everything on the way there and back again. It could run you back as much as $5000!

You can also read back through my previous threads for the process as-it-happened, or PM me if you have any questions

 

[weco]

I agree with EM, international travel with any animal can be expensive, but birds sometimes present unique problems and additional costs because of fears of avian flu/virus and because of the ease that a bird may be previously illegally imported, given the lack of regular documentation in their lineage but where a bird has been once cleared for export from the U.S., re-import should be simply a matter of a physical exam or two just before transportation & a possible at home quarantine when it returns to the U.S. laws are different for different countries and from & to different countries.....

Again, good luck.....

 

[hiriki]

Thanks!! It's good to hear from someone who has done this before, I think I'm going to send you a PM in a bit with some specific questions.

Mostly I'm stuck on whether or not now is the best time. Next year I'll be doing my initial study abroad, which will be for one year and during that year the bird would live with my father. I could wait until after that to adopt but if I did that, the Jenday I've been eyeing will certainly have a home already elsewhere, and I'd also have to really rush to get the paperwork done and the vet visits over with before leaving for my work assignment, and I'm not quite confident with that.

Other than that, I'm even more concerned because I'll be rescuing, so I have no way of proving that the bird wasn't illegally imported into the states... I'm sure I can get ahold of proof of purchase from the rescue, but they won't be able to account for the bird's origins...

 

[weco]

Thanks!! It's good to hear from someone who has done this before, I think I'm going to send you a PM in a bit with some specific questions.

Mostly I'm stuck on whether or not now is the best time. Next year I'll be doing my initial study abroad, which will be for one year and during that year the bird would live with my father. I could wait until after that to adopt but if I did that, the Jenday I've been eyeing will certainly have a home already elsewhere, and I'd also have to really rush to get the paperwork done and the vet visits over with before leaving for my work assignment, and I'm not quite confident with that.

Other than that, I'm even more concerned because I'll be rescuing, so I have no way of proving that the bird wasn't illegally imported into the states... I'm sure I can get ahold of proof of purchase from the rescue, but they won't be able to account for the bird's origins...

In order to send English Muffin a PM, you'll need to request one of Our Super Moderators relay it for you as you don't have enough posts built up to be able to do it on your own.....

Good luck.....

 

[getwozzy]

Any of us moderators would be happy to forward any PMs for you...just look for whomever's online at the time you'd like to send it (our usernames are purple) and send us the PM.
[emoji4]

 

[SilverSage]

I dont have anything that useful to add except that I do highly suspect not being able to establish captive breeding would 100% eliminate the bird's chances of entering the USA due to the laws enacted in 1992 prohibiting the importation of wild-caught parrots. However, All that is needed sometimes is a closed band, meaning no split, the band is one solid piece placed on the leg in the nest. Other cases also require a hatch certificate, I dont know what is required for import. Because "rescues" take birds from many situations including owner surrender and not necessarily just birds who need "rescuing" there is a chance that you will find a "rescue bird" who has a hatch certificate and/or other documentation that you may need.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

My advice is this: wait to get a bird. If you're a student and you're planning travel, you're not financially in a good place and you're not secure enough in a location to adopt a bird. I highly doubt any rescue would adopt to a student who is planning to travel. Wait until you're done school and in your own place, and in a more stable financial situation

 

[hiriki]

@EnglishMuffin: That's been my thoughts too, although it's been kind of depressing to think that way. My only motivation for doing it now despite the long list of reasons not to adopt at this point is because I'm concerned a bird I bought in Japan won't be able to come with me if I need to return home for any reason. My reasoning was that it might be easier to reimport a bird adopted here than to initially import a bird bought in Japan.

It sounds like that isn't the case anyway, if the USA requires proof of hatching.

Regardless, I'm going to continue researching so I at least understand my options. There's just a lot to keep in mind and the information isn't well consolidated anywhere on the internet.

 

[SilverSage]

In the mean time, you could consider fostering for your local shelter I know how hard it can be to want a bird in your life and have to wait. A foster or similar situation would be a way to learn and live with a bird, and also to get actual rescue experience. Rescue birds can be extremely damaged, so the more experience you have helping hurting birds before bringing your own rescue home, the better.