Once you’ve finalized your relocation plans, it’s natural to feel excited by the thought of moving. Of course, you may also feel a bit of worry along the way, especially when it’s your first time handling a move throughout your lifetime. The countless glances you make on your to-do list ensure you have everything in check. After all, no one wants to experience an inconvenient and chaotic relocation as much as possible.
With that being said, the same thing should apply when preparing your fur babies for transport too. We understand that it may appear unsettling to research moving your pets and know that you must prepare a separate to-do list for them all while maintaining a schedule before the move. The safest decision is to communicate with a moving company that also deals with pet relocation and consult them about the transport arrangements. However, there are also things that you need to look out for when planning your pet transport South Africa:
Below are the things necessary for pet relocation outside of South Africa. There will be some variations depending on the distance of the destination country.
Bear in mind that you need to see whether there will be quarantine requirements that must be complied with before or after the travel for your pets since this will assist you in adjusting your travel schedule.
Make sure that all your pets have a registered ISO microchip. Regardless of whether they have their vaccinations regularly updated but still lack a microchip, you will be required to get one for each of your pets and redo all types of vaccinations so that they can be qualified for outside travel. Microchipping should be done before or on the actual day of the rabies vaccination. If this is not followed, it may cause blood redraws and will cause more delays to the travel.
As much as possible, your pets should already have completed all types of vaccinations before they travel. This will be inspected by those in charge of pet travels to see if they qualify for outside travel. Rabies vaccinations are one of the most important vaccinations that animals are required to have. The vaccinations should all be recorded in the vet book and must exceed 1 month and less than a year.
Valid inoculations for animals should also be done to your pets for them to develop antibodies when a familiar pathogen enters their bodies. Similar to vaccinations, these should also exceed 30 days and less than a year to allow them for outside travel and make sure to have them all listed in the vet book.
The Rabies Neutralizing Titre Test (RNATT) is a test that detects antibodies that are neutralizing the rabies virus inside an animal’s body and measuring the level of the said immune response. This is only drawn after a month of rabies re-vaccination and only if the pet’s rabies inoculations were permitted to expire.
It’s should be reminded that you must not draw any blood within and before a month or your pets will not be qualified for a State Vet Clearance. As a result, they may not be permitted for outside travel or will possibly be quarantined upon entering the country.
Note: Entering countries in the European Union may happen for at least 90 days after the blood extraction for the RNATT. Immediate entries may be allowed, so remember this when preparing your flight schedules.
Part of your research work is checking the paperwork required for travelling outside of your home country and entering the destination country. These things are very crucial since the paperwork won’t only be requiring you to send pet identification papers but also all of their medical records and other relevant medical tests.
The paperwork will highly determine whether your pet will be qualified for outside travel, will need to be quarantined first, or is unqualified to travel at all. So you don’t get confused, list down all of the requirements so you can gradually begin to get them one by one. We also advise that you keep two copies of all documents so you can keep the other one for yourself in case of an emergency.
Consider all the medical needs of your pets by checking whether they have different kinds of vaccinations aside from the one for rabies, like the kennel cough vaccination for preventing hiccups. Communicate with your vet about which medications to bring, the right dosage, and what to do when certain medical conditions arise. You need to ensure that your pets are protected both inside and outside as they will be exposed to different types of environments on their way to their destination.
Just like humans travelling, your pets should have a handy bag that contains all of their essentials. This is needed so that anyone who’s in charge of monitoring them during travel can just access their needs in one place. The bag should consist of water, small treats, food pellets, toys, a first-aid kit, medications, and water. Make sure to put a label on the bag in case of loss while travelling. The bag must be carried at all times so you can immediately to the needs of your pet and keep them hydrated.
Readying your pet for outside travel is also quite tedious just like how you plan for your flights. But with pet relocation, there are additional specific tests that are required to have complied with before the travel date. Initial assessments will need to be done to see if the animal is fit for outside travel.
But it also doesn’t stop there: you need to continuously monitor your pet’s condition during the entire duration of the travel just to be sure that they are healthy and safe. As pet owners, we want our furbabies to also experience stress-free travel.
Please notify us of any violations. This information will be kept confidential and shared only with Wise Move.
