Yachting and Boating World forums: Sailing into NZ with a cat on board

I live in NZ and am generally familiar with the requirements.

The real McCoy detailed information is at http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/animals/standards/domyacic.spe.htm. You should note that the favoured importation status set out in that for cats ex UK is nullified if you have visited any non favoured country on the voyage to NZ (which would be difficult to do) so it is generally inadvisable to bring a cat on a yacht to NZ.

Despite the difficulties, should you go ahead, you will find the authorities very helpful, non threatening and very used to handling visiting yachts. Just be cooperative with them but they will get very angsty if you bring a cat and it gets ashore or disappears.

A possibility, if you stay is to be a long term one, is to have the cat flown out from UK. The last time I looked at importing a cat the process was relatively easy with Air NZ. If the cat was ex UK (a favoured country) then they would take it as cargo routed through the USA (one stop) and maintain quarantine for it. The animal is not allowed to be offloaded in the USA at any time from the aircraft as USA is not a favoured nation and once you (or anyone else) has booked a cat to be flown to NZ by them ex UK they will then quarantine the aircraft by not permitting animals from any non favoured country to be carried. Your animal will be flown at any time but zoo cargoes will be given preference which means your animal cannot be flown if quarantine is broken by that. Don't know if has changed recently but if your stay is to be long term I suggest talking to Air NZ (Qantas may do the same).

John

--------------------
www.sailroom.co.uk