[PJT]

Hi there,
after long discussion we have decided that our dog has to come with us, even if it means locking him up in quarantine for 4 months.
Has anyone here flown a dog from South Africa to New Zealand? Did you use a shipping service? Or did you organize everything yourself? How much did you end up paying for everything? Questions, questions...

[PJT]

And also: Do I have to have a work permit (i.e. job) in order to import a pet???

[donkeykong]

I brought my dog in on a visitors visa, you will get to pay an extra 240$NZD gst. You can get this amount back if you change your visa. MAF will tell you its ok to bring a dog on a tourist visa. The dog must clear bio cert. Total cost for me $4000USD. This includes
1. vet bills
2 MAF and Quarantine
3 Airline ticket
4 Pet transporter, to give the dog to air new zealand. "I have no choice on this"
5 GST

Hope this help

[dilanium]

I'm not sure about shipping companies, but there are only 4 or 5 facilities that are approved for quarantine.

It cost me ~1200NZD to quarantine my cat at Shado-Lans in Levin (and they did a great job and I whole heartedly recommend them to anyone who wishes to import a cat or a dog) for one month, so I'm thinking quarantining a dog for 4 months would be closer to $5000+

I'm not sure about shipping companies. Have you looked up all the biosecurity ins and outs? I would make sure you use a vet that is used to working with animals for exports, as they will have a better idea of what needs to be done. Here's the guide: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/animals/standards/domaniic.saf.htm

Make sure the vet you use for work in South Africa is "authorised by the Veterinary Administration of the country to perform certain designated official tasks associated with animal health and/or public health and inspections of commodities and, when appropriate, to certify in conformity with the provisions of the chapter of the OIE Code pertaining to obligations of certification" In the US that meant they were USDA certified, which not all vets were.

Also you need to make sure you start at least 6 months (but not more than 12 months) before you want your animal to arrive in NZ- that's when the microchip needs to be in by, and when the rabies titre needs to be drawn (the rabies vax needs to be at least 3 weeks before the titre, but not so long that will be given more than 12 months before than animal leaves).

I wish you the best of luck with all of this! Let me know if you have any questions about any of this- I negotiated it with my cat, and since then have been expanding my knowledge in the area of animal health. ;)

[andrewp]

Hi PJT,

We started looking at bringing our dog, but changed our mind when we found a lovely home for him. However, we did some preliminary investigations. From what I remember, the big problem is rabies in SA. you have to start the process 6 months before the dog leaves SA. Various blood tests and booster shots. Then 4 months in quarantine here. We never got a final quote, Dilanium has provided that.

If you do leave him behind, pop to the SPCA here. I was amazed at how organised the Auckland one is. Nothing like the SA ones.

Good luck whatever you decide...

:cheers

[PJT]

Thank you all for your advice. I refuse to use a pet transporter, they charge an insane amount for something I can easily do myself.
I am thinking about changing the plan a bit. My mother, who lives in Europe, offered to take him for 6 months and to then send him to NZ. That means one more flight for him but no quarantine, which in my eyes seems much better.

But again, thank you.

[dilanium]

well- I'm not sure how much the pet shippers from SA would gouge you but best of luck.

Where in Europe does your mother live? It seems that for most of continental Europe you need to quarantine for 30 days after they arrive: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/animals/standards/domaniic.spe.htm

[kiwi.]

Thank you all for your advice. I refuse to use a pet transporter, they charge an insane amount for something I can easily do myself.
I am thinking about changing the plan a bit. My mother, who lives in Europe, offered to take him for 6 months and to then send him to NZ. That means one more flight for him but no quarantine, which in my eyes seems much better.

But again, thank you.

Not sure if you have any choice on using a pet transporter. I believe (from the research I've done) that you have to use a pet transporter, at least coming from the US.
And are you sure about 4 months in quarantine? The risk from the US is also rabies, but they're only required to be in quarantine for 30days.

[PJT]

Shipping a dog from South Africa through a pet transporter costs about R18.000, which is about NZ$3.500. I am allowed, however, to organize it myself.

And my mother lives in Germany. If you ship your dog from there, you are required to keep him at home in NZ for a period of 30 days. Germany is considered a "rabies free" country, while South Africa is a "rabies controlled" country, therefore they require the 4 months quarantine. We got our dog from a kennel when he was 3 years old (he is now 10), the thought of locking him up again for such a long time, breaks my heart.

[dilanium]

erm. According to the link for animals coming from Europe that I posted above (which includes Germany) your dog would still need to be quarantined for 30 days in a quarantine facility.

8 ELIGIBILITY FOR IMPORTATION
(...)
8.3 The specified countries and territories recognised as countries or territories in which canine rabies is absent or well controlled and, as such, for which this import health standard is applicable are as follows:

Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Argentina, Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Falkland Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Mauritius, The Netherlands, Netherland Antilles and Aruba, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Slovenia, Reunion, Sabah, Sarawak, Seychelles, South Korea, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent Grenadin, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Wallis and Futuna.

13 QUARANTINE IN NEW ZEALAND

13.1 Animals shall be held for a minimum period of 30 days in a transitional facility approved to the MAF Standard for Dog and Cat Transitional Facilities, 154.02.09.

from:http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/animals/standards/domaniic.spe.htm bolding mine

[BkyMonster]

We found that the pet transporters from the US only charged a reasonable fee ($400 USD for 2 dogs) on top of other fees we would have needed to pay anyhow (official inspections and pre-boarding vet checks, freight fees etc etc). You don't have to use a pet transporter coming from the US, but there's a lot of minutiae necessary for NZ to approve entry of the animal, and I felt $400 was a decent price to pay for not having to learn about how to arrange a USDA inspection and hang out at LAX cargo area.
Do you know what those fees are for you and how much you would save doing it yourself?
Our shipper cost for 2 dogs (about 40kg of dog altogether not including crates) was around $2500 USD with a further umm $3000 or so NZD for quarantine (in the same kennel). There was also another 1-1500 USD in vet fees and tests.

[PJT]

erm. According to the link for animals coming from Europe that I posted above (which includes Germany) your dog would still need to be quarantined for 30 days in a quarantine facility.

from:http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/animals/standards/domaniic.spe.htm bolding mine

Crap. Okay, thank you for telling me. :uhoh

[PJT]

Do you know what those fees are for you and how much you would save doing it yourself?

From what I gathered, the fees sum up to about R6.000, that includes vet costs in South Africa (quite a difference to what a pet transporter would charge us).

[Ulysses_tga]

In 2006 we shipped a dog and 2 cats from Jhb to Wellington. Total cost including Sa Vet fees, shipping charges and 4 months quarantine at Shado-lans (excellent by the way) came to $17000-00. About 85000 ZAR. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

The Shado-Lans facility is propably the best of all of them in NZ and the animals are really well looked after. The pet shipper we used was based in Kempton Park but for the life of me I cannot remember there name. Will come to me sometime I'm sure.