Traveling between U. S. and Canada

[r2rusmc]

Originally Posted by chapala

Asking a vet to issue a health certificate at the time of the last visit - what is wrong with that? I don't see that as forging at all, just acknowledging that the bird was seen on such and such a date and was in good health with no communicable diseases seen. Now, whether the vet is willing to do it is another question.

So should the vet date it the current date or the date of the last visit?

We're not talking about doing a health certificate a week or two after the last visit here. It's been months and it is wanted for international travel.

I don't understand why it is so difficult for some to understand that you don't screw around when it comes to international import/export.

It is forging. Had the vet been aware of the intent to travel internationally he would have given guidance on proper home quarantine requirements to ensure that the bird is not exposed to any disease prior to export. I know, small and trivial detail right?

Why even risk the bird making it across the border over something as simple as BEING HONEST?

The simple facts are that no matter what the bird will have CBP involvement, may have FWS involvement if its on the CITES and has to pass a USDA inspection with the Port Veterinarian. Whether the OP has a US health certificate or not will not change that.

Toy with customs or give them reasons to suspect foul play and they will confiscate the bird. While things are getting sorted out they will make life miserable.

I don't get a mindset around here. "I love my bird so much that I don't care what the law is, I'll do what I think is best for my bird" and yadda yadda yadda. No, I'm not just thinking about this thread but a subject that has been brewing.

[chapala]

I never would recommend any falsifying or even asking a vet to put a different date on a health certificate! (Not that any reputable vet would do that!) What I stated was to check with the vet to see if she/he would be willing to issue a certificate on the date the bird was last seen.

"Had the vet been aware of the intent to travel internationally he would have given guidance on proper home quarantine requirements to ensure that the bird is not exposed to any disease prior to export. I know, small and trivial detail right?"

Vets don't really care what your travel plans are. I have crossed borders with dogs both in vehicles and by plane, and all the vet does is issue the certificate saying the animal is healthy on the date seen and listing vaccinations. They don't advise (even with a puppy) to avoid contact with other animals so that there is no possibility of contagious disease. They just issue the certificate.

I don't think the above posters were attempting to be dishonest. She is only trying to figure out how to bring her bird back to the country legally in a way that she won't have problems at the border.

[r2rusmc]

The OP is not the one suggesting dishonesty, that was Savery.

As for the vet not caring about your travel plans. When it comes to international travel it is a whole different ballgame. Even with international travel it is hugely different with dogs than it is with birds.

As for you crossing borders, if it was other than Canada and possibly Mexico I can guarantee there was one heck of a lot more too it and it involved the USDA.

[DarwinTheSun]

I was under the impression that a vet had to be seen 10 days prior to travel. So a vet visit from prior to the departure wouldn't have worked to get back into the US anyway. I would understand to mean you have to find a Canadian vet within 10 days of trying to return into the US and get them to sign the health check.

At least this was the plan for me traveling with my bird back to KY. I went for five weeks last winter and I had to get a health check within 10 days on either side of the trip. So we saw our regular avian vet here in WA and another in KY.

[chapala]

We had a foster GW Macaw for 14 months. That bird had been taken back and forth across the U.S.-Mexico border several times by the original owner, four trips (meaning eight crossings) I think in all. It got to be too much trouble doing the paperwork, and the former owner began leaving the GW in Mexico when they drove up for their annual visits. I had all the paperwork from the U.S. and Mexico in the bird's file, and talked with the former owner about the process. Yes, she had vet certificates from one side or the other depending on which way she was going, as well as USDA import permit, and F&W certificate. It's more complicated I believe than crossing the U.S.-Canada border with pet birds.

Here's the latest information I could find about crossing the U.S.-Canada border with a pet bird:

USDA - APHIS - Import