The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) launched a new website Tuesday, dedicated to international pet travel and helping travelers and accredited veterinarians easily determine country-specific requirements.

APHIS’s previous site was designed for accredited veterinarians and other animal health professionals who were familiar with interpreting technical regulatory language. Because of this, hundreds of callers a month called APHIS seeking info on pet travel. The new site is specifically designed to be easy for anyone to use.

“We know pets are members of the family, and our goal is to ensure pets meet the requirements to relocate with their families internationally – whether temporarily or permanently,” said Dr. Jack Shere, Deputy Administrator for APHIS’ Veterinary Services (VS). “We recognize each country has different entry requirements, and our new website makes it easy to understand and meet those requirements so travelers can avoid last-minute problems.”

The Web site provides information about taking pets from the United States to other countries and bringing pets into the United States, and applies to the following pets: dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, rabbits, rodents, hedgehogs and tenrecs, reptiles, and amphibians.

With the help of APHIS’ pet travel website, travelers and accredited veterinarians can get the most current information available for a particular country. The site also includes country-specific health certificates and instructions for completing them. Country forms can be confusing and the new website helps to remove the guess work by highlighting required fields.

We recommend that travelers plan ahead and work closely with their APHIS accredited veterinarians to ensure their pets receive the correct vaccinations and treatments and that the necessary paperwork is completed and, when required, signed in advance of their departure date. The Web site also includes contact information for VS’ National Import Export Services offices located across the country where experts are available to assist travelers and their accredited veterinarians over the phone and in person.

APHIS isn’t the only Federal agency that oversees international pet travel. Pets coming back into the United States may need to complete documentation required by other Federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our new website links directly to those agencies’ sites consolidating all pet travel needs in one place.