(How) do people emigrate their pets to distant countries?

[WeWillAllGoTogether]

Train of thought started by a farewell party for colleague moving back to Australia. There was some "take me with you in your suitcase" banter, which then got me thinking that I couldn't possibly leave my beloved cat.

Which then got me wondering whether people actually do move their pets such great distances. Not just the very long flight times, but presumably there's months of quarantine once they arrive? (Australia for example being a country where you can't even bring in a wooden spoon). Is it really practical for the pet, is it perhaps rather cruel, or don't they mind?

Came to say this. It's a lot more expensive, but they know exactly what is needed and what to do.

We're moving from Germany to the US next year and taking our cat. She'll just be coming in the cabin with us.

It's lots of paperwork, but my DHs employer is paying.

As above, all sorts of animals relocate with their owners.

I didn't end up on the same plane, but I did see falcon being carried through Doha airport. That's a whole nother rabbithole to go down if you have a Google about how birds of prey fly in the cabin!

Thanks to this thread I have now googled pet relocation companies and found a few that i think will be perfect for us. Thank you OP. x

Just as an aside- when we moved our pets 20 years ago, we were allowed to see them at Vienna airport which was the transfer airport. The man who ran the company we had used- we were the 36th set of animals he had moved that day. Among other things he had moved parrots, and even a lion to a zoo. He was awesome.

Glad to be of inadvertent help @JustStopItNorasaurus I hope your dcats move goes smoothly!

My former colleague brought her dog from Australia to the UK using a pet transport company (multiple flights with stopovers). It sounded very cruel to be honest but the dog arrived ok.

Parents in law did this a few years ago - they were returning to England after living in Australia for 20 years.

Dog had to be checked by vet and innoculations up to date etc and was then given a drop off date at Melbourne airport.

If I remember correctly the pet transportation company couldnt guarantee a particular flight but gave a date for arrival.

So 2 days after his departure we went to the animal handling bit of Heathrow and waited about half an hour and then he came running out of the quarantine area very pleased to see us. After doing his business and having something to eat he was right as rain. The parents then arrived the next day for a happy reunion.

Australia and UK dont seem to allow pets to travel in the cabin with owners - other friends flew from USA to Paris with their dog in cabin and got the train to Calais where the coordinated with a relative and they all drove through the channel tunnel home.

It all takes a lot of paperwork and needs careful planning but is do-able

There's an airline that flies charter flights in and out of Heathrow where you can travel with your pets - we did it when we moved here. It's not a cheap option, though.

https://www.k9jets.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21675579785&gbraid=0AAAAAp1a-TSU8izLAjuvMBkpx674ICHkv&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8ZPE_byFkAMVb5NQBh2pIgnmEAAYASAAEgLt3_D_BwE

You can fly out of U.K. with your pet in the cabin, you just can’t fly into the U.K. My cat carrier is a holdall and I don’t think anyone realised there was a cat in it.

SIL moved her dog from here to Australia. The dog had to quarantine for 5 months (here I think) then was transported to Australia. She said it cost a fortune. They left their other elderly dog with friends as they didn't think it was fair on him.

I presume it only applies to small pets? Do they get their own seat or do they have to fit in the footwell?

This will probably have been said already, but different countries have different requirements. Last year I imported a dog from France to Brazil and it was easy peasy: she needed up to date vaccines, a dewormer and tick prevention. Whereas if I now wanted to send her to France from Brazil, I would need to do all that plus do a rabies sorology test to prove her vaccinations are working + wait 3 months to arrive just in case Blueberry was just infected and isn't showing symptoms yet. This sorology test costs some 200 pounds which I don't find too bad.

Now, if I wanted to send Blueberry to Australia 😂
Brazil is an unlisted country, so first I would need to send her to a third listed country for 6 months (Chile would be the nearest and cheapest), THEN send her to Australia where she would be quarantined.

Another country that had me scratching my head is Japan. In theory, it's not any harder, except there's no national approved labs for the rabies sorology. The nearest one is in Kansas, US! So I'd also have to go through the expense of sending blood overseas and hope nothing happens to it on the way because shipping is outrageous.

If you have any questions, do feel free to ask, because I quite enjoy reading about the subject.

Wow, just did a hypothetical search for flights from London to California. One seat = £15k and that includes 1 big dog or 2 small.

I'd have to decide which of my 8 dogs I liked best 😅

France to the caribbean cost us 50 euros 3 years ago and 75 euros back last summer. For a cat in the cabin with us.

But cat plus bag have to weigh under 8kg so that rules out a lot of dogs.

My cat was in the footwell.

I looked into taking my cat from France to the UK and it was possible in the cabin BUT only on specific routes with specific companies. Air France Paris CDG to Manchester was one I think.

As an aside, I'm in France and lots of people take their cats with them on holiday! There's always a few stories of how the cat escaped the holiday home and went missing 10 days in corsica before arriving back just before the family left...

So hypothetically, I could drive DCat to Paris/Amsterdam (or fly, because it's leaving the UK). And from there DCat could travel in cabins of some airlines, all the way to Australia?

No it didn't cost a huge amount - £150. The rescuers pay the bulk of the cost. We did it because we lived in Dubai a while ago and saw first hand how badly these cats are treated and wanted to give one a chance of a better life. Plus Maus are a fantastic breed!