Legal (bring tortoise from France to U.S.)

[Teesh]

Hello, if have a baby greek tortoise and he was a gift from my uncle. My uncle got them as a gift from someone else. I don't have any CITIES papers...( i live in Paris) and i will take him to the vet soon for a small check up but he looks great so far. I would like to bring him to NY for a vacation but I know I need many papers. I some even have a SINGLE paper indicating a microchip, or anything. He is a 5 month old baby and he is about 3 inches. How do I get these papers and should I go to the vet without these papers? Ps he is a Testudo graeca iberia, people have told me how hard it is to get a tortoise to travel, so many papers, but I'm willing to try, how do I get these papers??


Teesh

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not sure you can bring in a pet without a quarantine period. You need to look into the laws of both countries.

 

[FLINTUS]

You would need to go through the hassle of export and import permits from CITES. You wouldn't quarantine, but it's just not worth it.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Hire a pet sitter or take him to stay with a friend.

 

[leigti]

I think it would be too hard to regulate temperature etc. on a trip like that. He would get very stressed. Just find a good person to take care of him while you're gone.

 

[Pokeymeg]

How long is this vacation? It would be insanely stressful and hard on your tortoise, and I really don't suggest putting him through that for anything short of a permanent move across the pond. Not to mention you risk breaking laws without proper documentation and having your tortoise confiscated.

 

[Teesh]

But does anybody know HOW to get cities papers??


Teesh

 

[FLINTUS]

Contact whoever the animal export authority is in your company for the export permit-the equivalent in the Uk would be DEFRA- and then USFW department for the import permit. I would not do it personally, as after all that you'll have to also go through the whole airline process as well. You're looking at at least 600 euros for this as a whole.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

No matter how correct your papers, there is still a possibility that the animal will be confiscated and possibly destroyed. Moving with animals or making a long stay is something else, but traveling for fun with a tortoise may seem suspicious. It's not something the inspectors & authorities have seen before.

 

[Tom]

It is not in your tortoises best interest to travel internationally for a vacation. Regardless of practicality or paperwork, this would simply not be good for your tortoise.

I travel internationally with animals for work all the time and we have teams of people who do this for a living organize our paper work and permits. It is not easy. It is not cheap. And even with teams of professionals we still run into constants snags and issues.

Further, importing animals into the US has become increasingly difficult and rule "invention" coupled with arbitrary enforcement seems to becoming more and more common.

It is not worth the risk or the stress level. Leave your baby at home.