Live animal transport
Pet relocation, planned around the animal
Crate, paperwork, flight and handover arranged as one job, to IATA Live Animals Regulations.
What is involved
Most of the work happens before the flight
A pet move is a documentation job with a flight attached. The crate has to meet the airline's reading of the IATA Live Animals Regulations, the health certificate has to be endorsed inside a window that is often only ten days wide, and the routing has to avoid embargoes and ground temperature limits at origin, destination and every stop between.
Get those three right and the flight itself is the easy part. Get one wrong and the animal is refused at the cargo counter, which is the worst possible place to find out.
- Crate sized and fitted to IATA LAR, not guessed from a chart
- Health certificate timing worked back from the flight date
- Microchip and rabies records checked against the destination's rules
- Temperature and breed embargoes checked on every sector
- Door-to-door collection and delivery, or airport handover
- One named coordinator from quote to arrival
How a move runs
Four stages
Assessment
Breed, age, weight and measurements, the destination's import rules and your dates. You get a written quote and a realistic timeline, including what cannot be done.
Documents
Microchip, rabies and any titre test, import permit where one is needed, and the veterinary health certificate endorsed in its window.
Crate
Correct IATA size for the animal standing naturally, supplied in time to acclimatise at home before the flight rather than on the day.
Flight and handover
Lodged at the cargo terminal, tracked on the same system as every other shipment, and released to you or your agent on arrival.
Entry requirements
What each destination wants
Requirements change, and the airline can be stricter than the country. We confirm every line of this against the current rule before you book.
| Destination | Microchip | Rabies | Titre test | Import permit | Plan ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | ISO, before rabies | Required, 21 days before travel | Not for listed countries | No | 4–6 weeks |
| European Union | ISO, before rabies | Required, 21 days before travel | From unlisted countries | No | 4–6 weeks |
| Australia | ISO, before rabies | Required | Yes, plus waiting period | Yes | 6–7 months |
| New Zealand | ISO, before rabies | Required | Yes | Yes | 6–7 months |
| Japan | ISO, before rabies | Two doses required | Yes, plus 180-day wait | Advance notification | 7–8 months |
| Canada | ISO recommended | Required | No | No | 3–4 weeks |
| UAE | ISO, before rabies | Required, 21 days before travel | Yes | Yes | 6–8 weeks |
A planning guide, not the rule. Requirements change, and the airline can be stricter than the country. Every line is confirmed against the current published requirement for your animal and your route before you are asked to book anything.
Before you book
Things that stop a pet flying
Better to know now than at the cargo counter. These are the constraints that most often move or cancel a booking.
- Snub-nosed breeds are refused by many carriers, and restricted by the rest
- Ground temperature limits at origin, destination and every transit stop
- Minimum age, and a weaning period that cannot be shortened
- Breed restrictions and bans that vary by country and by airline
- Health certificate windows that expire before a delayed flight departs
- Females in late pregnancy and animals recently sedated are not accepted
We never ask for a payment to release an animal
Every charge is quoted in writing before the booking is accepted, and invoiced to the account holder.
We will never contact you mid-transit asking for money for a crate upgrade, insurance, vaccination, a customs release or a temperature-controlled kennel. That request is the defining move of pet-purchase fraud, and it is not something we do.
Buying a pet online? Read this first
If you are paying a stranger for an animal you have not met, and a “shipping company” then asks you for more money to release it, you are being defrauded. The animal usually does not exist.
We do not act for sellers, we do not collect money on anyone's behalf, and we do not hold animals against payment. If someone has used our name to ask you for money, tell us and we will confirm in writing that the shipment is not ours.
Questions
Pet transport FAQ
If your route is unusual, ask before you plan around it.
Does my pet travel in the hold?
Usually yes, in a pressurised, temperature-controlled hold used for live animals. Some routes and sizes allow cabin carriage; we tell you which applies to your animal when we quote.
How far ahead should I book?
Four to six weeks is comfortable for most destinations. Australia, New Zealand and Japan need months, not weeks, because of titre testing and waiting periods — see the table above.
Can I track the flight?
Yes. A pet booking gets a tracking number like any other shipment, and the scan history updates at lodgement, departure, arrival and release.
What size crate does my pet need?
The animal must be able to stand fully upright without the ears touching, turn around, and lie down naturally. We measure and supply it rather than asking you to buy one and hope.
Do you sedate animals?
No, and nor should anyone. Sedation at altitude affects breathing and temperature regulation, and carriers refuse animals believed to be sedated.
Do you sell or rehome animals?
No. We move animals for their existing owners and for licensed breeders and rescues. We are not a party to any sale, and we do not collect payment on a seller's behalf.
What happens if a flight is cancelled?
The animal comes back into care at the origin, you are told the same day, and we rebook. If a health certificate has expired in the meantime we say so straight away rather than presenting it at the counter and hoping.
Get moving
Planning a move with an animal?
Tell us the breed, the weight, the destination and roughly when. You get a written quote and an honest timeline, including anything that cannot be done.