traveling with pet bird!

[JGarza57]

Hello everyone, I haven’t posted any updates in about 2 months. I decided to keep the parrot and named him Gavino! He is very attached to me and I will be traveling to Mexico (by car) in December but I don’t want to leaving him behind. Have any of yall traveled to another country with yalls pet bird? I’ve been reading online and almost everywhere it says that if you travel with any type of pet bird a disease testing and a 30 day quarantine will be held but i dont think he’s able to be away from me that long and all the stories i’ve heard is that they end up killing them, i will be calling FWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) first thing tomorrow but I really need yalls help! What kind of paper work do I need? Is there anyone else i can call besides the FWS that can give me more information?? I don’t have anyone who can come by and check on him around the holidays! WHY IS IT SO HARD TRAVELING WITH A PET BIRD???

Here are some pictures of him

 

[charmedbyekkie]

International import/export is tricky. You will have to check with not only US policies (if you plan on bringing him back to the US), but also Mexico's policies.

For going to Mexico
Check with them. Apparently they are not consistent, but you'll likely need not only a CITES but also your standard tests (like PBFD and others). It sounds like you'll also need some export/import permit, but this is not well documented, so do your research and go above and beyond.

For going back to the US
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/bring-pet-into-the-united-states/pet-birds/pet-birds-mexico
If I'm understanding correctly, this website says land travel is not allowed for birds. But here's what you would need to get back into the US:

21-day pre-export isolation, which is defined as:

• Pre- export isolation must:
• Occur for at least the 21 days immediately preceding the date of travel to the U.S.
• Be supervised by an official government veterinarian, or by a veterinarian in the country from which your bird is arriving who issues the export health certificate and has been authorized by the foreign government to supervise the quarantine.
  NOTE: This isolation can be accomplished in the home so long as it is under the approval of the veterinarian who will issue the health certificate. There can be no other birds in the home (unless they are being shipped and are listed on the import permit).
• Once pre-export isolation has been completed, the pet bird must be transferred directly from the isolation location to the port of embarkation (airport) in a carrier that has had seals applied by the government veterinarian.
• The seals must have identifying marks or numbers which are then recorded on the health certificate.

• appropriate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) certifications and permits;
• a Veterinary Services (VS) import permit.
• an original health certificate issued or endorsed by the government of Mexico
• upon entry in the U.S., disease testing and a 30 day quarantine

If I recall correctly, if you can prove your bird is US-origin (microchip or closed leg band with records), then the 30-day quarantine could be done at home rather than the standard federal facility... Don't quote me on this.

So do note that it's 21-day quarantine in Mexico plus 30-day quarantine in the US.

I believe Amazons are legal in all US states, so that's fine going across state borders, if that's any consolation.


Long story short, TBH, from my narrow perspective, it doesn't seem worth it.

I live in a country where if I do want to go on holiday, I have to go internationally (yay, city-state country). And yeah, I'd love to take our little guy with us, but it's too much of a risk and it's too expensive and it's way too time-consuming. It honestly would be more stressful than leaving him home.

I'd recommend looking into having a friend house-sit/pet-sit at the same time or find a parrot boarding place you trust, even if you have to drive quite a distance to that boarding place.

 

[Kiwibird]

I have traveled within the US with my amazon but unless I was moving to another country, there is no way I’d bring him anywhere internationally. There is just too much paperwork and risk there of the US not letting him back in IMO. The reason parrots are so hard to travel internationally with is that they are still sadly being caught in the wild and smuggled into other countries illegally and many species are endangered in their native habitats

How long will you be in Mexico? You can board him at a bird store or avian vets office, where he will be cared for and safe. You could also look into hiring a professional pet sitter (not just some random person, but someone who runs a a small business type service) if there is one in the area who will come care for birds since you don’t have any friends/family willing or able to do so. Keeping him at home is the best option for travel when he can’t go, but it’s not an option for everyone so the next best is boarding. If you’ll be traveling for the holidays, book your birds stay at a border or set up with a pet sitting service now because they fill up fast for that time of year!

 

[JGarza57]

International import/export is tricky. You will have to check with not only US policies (if you plan on bringing him back to the US), but also Mexico's policies.

For going to Mexico
Check with them. Apparently they are not consistent, but you'll likely need not only a CITES but also your standard tests (like PBFD and others). It sounds like you'll also need some export/import permit, but this is not well documented, so do your research and go above and beyond.

For going back to the US
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/bring-pet-into-the-united-states/pet-birds/pet-birds-mexico
If I'm understanding correctly, this website says land travel is not allowed for birds. But here's what you would need to get back into the US:

21-day pre-export isolation, which is defined as:

• Pre- export isolation must:
• Occur for at least the 21 days immediately preceding the date of travel to the U.S.
• Be supervised by an official government veterinarian, or by a veterinarian in the country from which your bird is arriving who issues the export health certificate and has been authorized by the foreign government to supervise the quarantine.
  NOTE: This isolation can be accomplished in the home so long as it is under the approval of the veterinarian who will issue the health certificate. There can be no other birds in the home (unless they are being shipped and are listed on the import permit).
• Once pre-export isolation has been completed, the pet bird must be transferred directly from the isolation location to the port of embarkation (airport) in a carrier that has had seals applied by the government veterinarian.
• The seals must have identifying marks or numbers which are then recorded on the health certificate.

• appropriate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) certifications and permits;
• a Veterinary Services (VS) import permit.
• an original health certificate issued or endorsed by the government of Mexico
• upon entry in the U.S., disease testing and a 30 day quarantine

If I recall correctly, if you can prove your bird is US-origin (microchip or closed leg band with records), then the 30-day quarantine could be done at home rather than the standard federal facility... Don't quote me on this.

So do note that it's 21-day quarantine in Mexico plus 30-day quarantine in the US.

I believe Amazons are legal in all US states, so that's fine going across state borders, if that's any consolation.


Long story short, TBH, from my narrow perspective, it doesn't seem worth it.

I live in a country where if I do want to go on holiday, I have to go internationally (yay, city-state country). And yeah, I'd love to take our little guy with us, but it's too much of a risk and it's too expensive and it's way too time-consuming. It honestly would be more stressful than leaving him home.

I'd recommend looking into having a friend house-sit/pet-sit at the same time or find a parrot boarding place you trust, even if you have to drive quite a distance to that boarding place.

Thank you so mich for your respose! I know i wouldn’t have a problem getting all my paper work that needs to be done in Mexico because we have a couple family friends who are vets and the process of taking him to Mexico isn’t the one that concerns me rather the one bringing him back eventhough he was born here. I don’t have any paper work due to the fact that i reacued him off of the side of the road and i had visited that cite (USDA) and saw that pet birds were prohibited from crossing on land. Im just worried that I dont have anyone to look after him!

 

[JGarza57]

I have traveled within the US with my amazon but unless I was moving to another country, there is no way I’d bring him anywhere internationally. There is just too much paperwork and risk there of the US not letting him back in IMO. The reason parrots are so hard to travel internationally with is that they are still sadly being caught in the wild and smuggled into other countries illegally and many species are endangered in their native habitats

How long will you be in Mexico? You can board him at a bird store or avian vets office, where he will be cared for and safe. You could also look into hiring a professional pet sitter (not just some random person, but someone who runs a a small business type service) if there is one in the area who will come care for birds since you don’t have any friends/family willing or able to do so. Keeping him at home is the best option for travel when he can’t go, but it’s not an option for everyone so the next best is boarding. If you’ll be traveling for the holidays, book your birds stay at a border or set up with a pet sitting service now because they fill up fast for that time of year!

Thank you for responding! It does seem to be hard to travel with a pet bird eventhough they require as much or more attention than your typical household pets such as dogs and cats. I will be in Mexico for two weeks and I’ve looked at pet sitters online but they are all 30-40 min away and they all list dogs/cats being their experience, I’ll try and look at some vets and bird sitters near the border! Thank you.

 

[Anita1250]

I used to travel with Sam when he was younger. Mostly to visit family we could stay with. Now that he is turning 37, I feel it stresses him too much. My CAV boards birds for his patients, and allows us to bring Sam's cage so he can feel at home. The girls there are great with him, and he really doesn't mind it. He is after all at the vet, so I don't worry so much that something will happen to him. They have somebody there 7 days a week, and the only time the birds are alone is 11PM to 6 AM. They have a camera system that allows the staff to watch any area of the office at all times, and a good alarm. It does allow me to travel now with peace of mind that my baby bird ( some baby at 37 ) is well taken care of. Since we are about to retire, travel has become important as we have many places we wish to see. Having this boarding set up has made it a lot better.