|
Written by Trudy and Graham Norbury |
||||||||||||||
|
Dear SSCA,
Our cats, Shadow and Sylvester, believe Luna Azul is their home, and like most felines, they strive for a stress-free existence, preferring to delegate completion of all formalities to their human companions. Since this winter’s cruising plans included a visit to the British Virgin Islands, we expected our fair share of stress in order to obtain official permission to bring them with us.
Stacked Cats
Current rules for exporting animals from the USA to other countries can be found on the USDA’s website which lists information concerning export regulations by country, along with a list of State Veterinarians. They can also be contacted via e-mail and phone 1-800- 545-USDA. All countries we planned to visit required a valid health certificate from the vet who administered their injections and this must then be endorsed by a USDA veterinarian. The USDA requires the original Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animal filled in by the veterinarian, original certificates for all vaccinations that are stated on the form so they can be embossed, a money order for the $24 processing fee and a list of the countries to be visited. Our cruising itinerary required the following:
Sylvester Strolling down the deck
The Bahamas application procedure was straightforward, and the permits were returned via prepaid FedEx shipping upon receipt of the application to import domestic animal and fee of $10 per animal. Note: Fees increased this year for cruisers with multiple animals. Last year we paid just one fee for both animals. The application form can be found on the website above or they will happily fax it to you. Our original attempt to save money and send the package via regular postal service failed, so we’d advise applicants to use FedEx and ensure fees are made out in the form of a money order. For more information contact the Director of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, PO Box N-3704, Nassau, Bahamas or call 242-325-7502 or 325-7509 – note if using FedEx replace the PO Box with Levy Building, East Bay St.
Shadow watching the world
Getting the documentation for the BVI turned out to be far more complicated, as the serological test takes at least a month to be processed by the Rabies/FAVN Lab at Kansas State University. We had only left ourselves four weeks from when the cats visited the animal hospital until our anticipated departure date. Due to the tight deadline, we requested the USDA endorse and return the Health Certificate immediately without listing the BVIs, enabling us at least to make landfall in the USVIs. When the fax for the serological test finally arrived at our animal hospital, we had it faxed to the veterinary division in the BVI along with all the documentation to prove the cats had satisfied the list above. After numerous e-mails and phone calls we eventually received a faxed copy of the import permit in the USVI. For more information contact Government of the British Virgin Islands, Department of Agriculture, Veterinary Division, Paraquita Bay, Tortola or call 284-495-2110 or e-mail bvigov_vet@hotmail.com.
Can we have this fish dad?
Meeting the official requirements for our cats to accompany us on our Caribbean cruise required numerous hours on the telephone and about $600 dollars of vaccinations, paperwork and miscellany, although this number would be significantly reduced in absence of the microchip and the serological tests. So is it all worthwhile? Last year the Customs officer who checked us into Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas implied we were among the few to arrive with the correct paperwork. In Saint Thomas, USVI, we ticked the box on the Customs form declaring our animals, but no further clarification or paperwork was requested, and in Tortola, BVI, we had to practically beg the Customs official to take the hard-earned import permit and stamp it. Of course, who knows what would have happened if we’d skipped the paperwork and then been asked for it.
Please visit the SSCA website |
||||||||||||||
|
Crew: Trudy and Graham Norbury, and their cats Sylvester and Shadow
Written 24th December and edited 28th December 2003 |
