traveling with a dog on the south pacific

[bysailsorrails]

Hi, I was just curious if anyone has experience traveling with a dog on the south pacific. I'm planning on crossing Mexico to Hawaii then going to Samoa Micronesia islands, new Zealand and on to Australia and I'm sure some places in between. Was wondering the quarantine laws and such and if there's a certain route that would make it less of a hassle and possibly shorter quarantine times, such as one country to another that has similar laws on the matter. I'm aware of the process of getting all shots and paper work together, more worried about how long I will have to be with out my furry friend why she in quarantine

[iancoombe]

New Zealand and Australia are a big problem the information is available if you Google. I know people who have left Australia with dogs and it cost about 1000.00 to leave.
Cheers

[JPA Cate]

bysailforrails,

Also check Hawaii: they used to have a long quarantine period for pets from the mainland, and I don't know what the present practice is.

iancoombe is right about NZ and Australia, with the latter being the more strict--I believe it is 6 months quarantine, at your cost, cats and dogs.

New Caledonia also has quarantine for dogs, don't know about cats.

Ann

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by iancoombe

New Zealand and Australia are a big problem the information is available if you Google. I know people who have left Australia with dogs and it cost about 1000.00 to leave.
Cheers

??? I'd have thought the problem was ENTERING Australia (or other countries), not leaving.


http://www.agriculture.gov.au/cats-dogs

[roverhi]

Hawaii has made it possible to bring animals without quarantine. Unfortunately it's a long process to get the animal certified rabies free. It's something like 6 months before you plan on arriving the animal has to have rabies shots and then be checked that they are rabies free months after the shots. You can get the details on the web.

NZ and Oz are much stricter on their quarantines. Talk to Jack Sparrow about bringing a dog in without going through the procedures. Johny Depp flew his dog on his private jet and got busted. Don't know how it's going to turn out but the Oz authorities were talking jail time.

Caution against taking dogs to SoPac. We lost our Lab in the Marquesas to a local distemper virus. Let her ashore once and that was all it took. Cat developed bladder infections that we had to catheterize to relieve. Ran out of catheters and had to put the cat down. A sad beginning to our cruise in French Polynesia. Had a friend who had his cat literally jump ship while in on the boat quarantine in Auckland, NZ. Authorities were none too happy and threatened all sorts of dire consequences. Ended up finding the cat on a boat that had recently sailed from Auckland to the Bay of Islands. Apparently the cat had jumped off the boat, swam over and climbed on this other boat. They didn't discover they had a stow away until they were well underway heading north. Thank heavens for ham radio, the cats owners got on the local net and the people whose boat the cat ended up on found out about the predicament as soon as they dropped anchor in the Bay of Islands.

Personally think it's foolish to take an animal cruising, cheaper to have a kid and take it.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by bysailsorrails

Hi, I was just curious if anyone has experience traveling with a dog on the south pacific. ... I'm aware of the process of getting all shots and paper work together, more worried about how long I will have to be with out my furry friend why she in quarantine

Here are a couple of links:

New Zealand Customs rules on pets.

Australian rules on pets

Also you might find this web site really helpful. Pet Travel By Boat.

[Nicholson58]

The regulations for each destination can be found along with advisories & true stories on NOONSITE.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

??? I'd have thought the problem was ENTERING Australia (or other countries), not leaving.


Department of Agriculture Bringing cats and dogs (and other pets) to Australia

Quarantine bills you at the end as well as when you check in.
Someone a few years ago was hit for $6,000 for Quarantine transhipping a cat from NZ Q to Australian Q!

[WildWill]

How about the quarantine laws for birds? A Parrot or Raven seem like more suitable pets aboard, yarrr ;-)

[Evenstar]

I would not take a dog or cat through the South Pacific, the quarantine laws and other laws are pretty draconian.

Fiji for example requires you pay a bond for your animal ($1,500 per critter), and it MUST stay on the boat at all times. Not so bad for a cat but I can't see that working for a dog.

If your animal goes missing it can be a problem:
Missing on-board pet causes problems with Fiji Bio-Security — Noonsite

You will spend a lot of time dealing with a lot more hassles in these countries. Don't even think about the Galapagos.

Much of the Caribbean is pretty pet friendly, the South Pacific not so much.

[Evenstar]

Note: my daughter has had no problem with a tiny little hermit crab that lives on board...

[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Quarantine bills you at the end as well as when you check in.
Someone a few years ago was hit for $6,000 for Quarantine transhipping a cat from NZ Q to Australian Q!

The Q costs are now horrendous in Aus - we were quoted $6k on entry for our dog, then another $500 - $1k on exit for all the paperwork. Don't even bother emailing AQIS either; as helpful as a hole in the head.

n

[RaymondR]

Australia is rabies free and spends a lot of money aiding neighbors to our north with rabies eradication schemes, consequently fairly particular about the animals people try to import.

Part of the reason we are particular about imports is the environmental and economic problems they cause. Just about anything let into the country thrives. Decades ago we let in a couple of hippies, they thrived, started a political party and have made the country almost ungovernable.

[dungtroy]

A good ideas with a special company be a dog!