ATTENTION SUZI RE:IGUANAS ON AIRPLANES/INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

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Posted by M.Eguro on August 31, 1999 at 12:48:16:

DEAR SUZI,

Please except my apologize, I think there is something wrong with my email,
certain addys keep getting returned to me with error messages. I didn't want you to think I was
ignoring your questions, so I am answering them here. Please forgive me, i hope they are helfpul!

At 12:19 AM 8/31/99 PDT, you wrote:
> Hi Marie,
>You said you had taken your igs to Japan and then returned to the US. I was
>informed that once they had been taken outside the US, they could not be
>brought back in.

No, no, this is not true. You can travel anywhere in the world with your iguana that they will allow CITES (Convention on International trade of Endangered Species) appendix II animals and iguanas in particular. You can then fly back home with your iguana, and go in and out of the country as many times as you want as long as you are in good standing and have the proper paperwork.

"CITES" is a list of flora and fauna compiled in the 70's to help protect certain vunerable species from depletion. Yes the common green iguana ( species _Iguana iguana_) is sold in every pet store for $10 and certainly in no danger of extinction, but if allowed to be overfarmed (esp. for food) they could become scarce in some areas. Since Feb 4, 1977, Green Iguanas are listed as CITES appendix II, just like the galapagos iguanas. This is in contrast to two much more rare iguana species, i.e,. CYCLURA spp. and BRACHYLOPHUS (fiji iguanas).

In order to travel legally with your iguana internationally, you need to fill out a CITES application and usually have it approved by both countries. Sometimes for certain international moves you only need one country's permission, for example only an export permit and no import permit, etc. Then you need to get an airway bill number, etc for shipping. It is a long and tedious process. International movement of reptiles is not like shipping within the U.S., it is much more complicated.

>Is Japan an exception or what? I live on Guam, which is a US territory and dogs and cats coming from here do not have to be quarentined going to the Mainland. Coming in, they do because we are certified rabies free, like Hawaii.

No reptile ever needs to be "quarantined" even for international travel. They don't get rabies and other mammal related diseases. You will be able to bring the iguana to the airport and have it leave the same day, and pick your iguana up within an hour of landing at its destination. much easier on the animals than with cats and dogs.

>currently, no reptiles are allowed to be imported.

yes, most islands like Hawaii and also Guam (and also Saipan which is why I could not take my iguana there with me when I went there every year) do not allow the import of iguanas. It messes up the ecosystem. When I travelled to the Cayman Islands recently for my cyclura iguana research project, we found many wild green iguanas which has had a devastating effect on the nearly extinct Blue Iguana that is native to Grand Cayman Island.

>There was a salmonella scare a few years back that did away with the little green turtles. You can own them and sell them if they are over 4 inches, just can't bring them in. And since, as the world knows, we have a slight snake problem here, we can't bring in snakes or anything that might be tempted to eat a baby bird or eggs.

Yeah, that is a good policy! Snakes wreck havoc on small island systems. However, even though green iguanas are vegetarian, they also mess up the ecosystem.

>I am planning to take a job on the Mainland in a few months for 6 months to a year. After reading all the stories about male igs lately, I am getting nervous about leaving him with my boyfriend. He hates snakes and it took a while for him to get used to Louie, and he still isn't really too fond of him. I don't want to come back and find an earless boyfriend and an ig rug!
>My sister is a vet tech in Las Vegas, Nevada and my daughter who is studying to be an exotic vet, lives with her. I am sure they would love to ig sit, if I can get him there.
>Any suggestions?

You can read about my travels, which I have documented in hopes of helping out others. In the past couple years, I have filled out so many CITES applications for myself and for others, geez the permit people there (the biologists) practically knew me by my first name. here is the URL, let me know if you have any questions.

http://the.ThoughtShop.net/~meguro/sammy_j/overseas.html
http://www.sagami.ne.jp/%7Eyama/yil/news/marie980602_e.htm

Oh one more thing, there are only certain designated ports within the Unites States which allow for importation of wildlife and CITES listed animals. You will need to get this list to decide which port you want to use. The second site listed above will tell you how. I used LAX (Los Angeles) since I live right there, this is the only port in the United States I have direct experience with. I do have a friend who worked for years in the New York port though but that is all.

Once you decide on the port you need to contact someone from the US Fish and Wildlife (USFW) to do an inspection so you can take your iguana home, and you will need to fill out a Wildlife Declaration Form 3-177.

You can see it is a big hassle just for one animal and will be a huge expense esp if you insure the iguana when you ship him. Still it is worth it, my iguana Sammy has seen the world!!!

Take care,

Marie n Sammy the green iguana n baby Sapphire the blue iguana
http://the.ThoughtShop.net/~meguro/sapphire/sapphire.html

how to travel overseas legally with CITES flora and fauna

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Re: ATTENTION SUZI ::Thank you so much,Marie! suzi 9/01/99 (0)

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: DEAR SUZI, : Please except my apologize, I think there is something wrong with my email, : certain addys keep getting returned to me with error messages. I didn't want you to think I was : ignoring your questions, so I am answering them here. Please forgive me, i hope they are helfpul! : At 12:19 AM 8/31/99 PDT, you wrote: : > Hi Marie, : >You said you had taken your igs to Japan and then returned to the US. I was : >informed that once they had been taken outside the US, they could not be : >brought back in. : No, no, this is not true. You can travel anywhere in the world with your iguana that they will allow CITES (Convention on International trade of Endangered Species) appendix II animals and iguanas in particular. You can then fly back home with your iguana, and go in and out of the country as many times as you want as long as you are in good standing and have the proper paperwork. : "CITES" is a list of flora and fauna compiled in the 70's to help protect certain vunerable species from depletion. Yes the common green iguana ( species _Iguana iguana_) is sold in every pet store for $10 and certainly in no danger of extinction, but if allowed to be overfarmed (esp. for food) they could become scarce in some areas. Since Feb 4, 1977, Green Iguanas are listed as CITES appendix II, just like the galapagos iguanas. This is in contrast to two much more rare iguana species, i.e,. CYCLURA spp. and BRACHYLOPHUS (fiji iguanas). : In order to travel legally with your iguana internationally, you need to fill out a CITES application and usually have it approved by both countries. Sometimes for certain international moves you only need one country's permission, for example only an export permit and no import permit, etc. Then you need to get an airway bill number, etc for shipping. It is a long and tedious process. International movement of reptiles is not like shipping within the U.S., it is much more complicated. : >Is Japan an exception or what? I live on Guam, which is a US territory and dogs and cats coming from here do not have to be quarentined going to the Mainland. Coming in, they do because we are certified rabies free, like Hawaii. : No reptile ever needs to be "quarantined" even for international travel. They don't get rabies and other mammal related diseases. You will be able to bring the iguana to the airport and have it leave the same day, and pick your iguana up within an hour of landing at its destination. much easier on the animals than with cats and dogs. : >currently, no reptiles are allowed to be imported. : yes, most islands like Hawaii and also Guam (and also Saipan which is why I could not take my iguana there with me when I went there every year) do not allow the import of iguanas. It messes up the ecosystem. When I travelled to the Cayman Islands recently for my cyclura iguana research project, we found many wild green iguanas which has had a devastating effect on the nearly extinct Blue Iguana that is native to Grand Cayman Island. : >There was a salmonella scare a few years back that did away with the little green turtles. You can own them and sell them if they are over 4 inches, just can't bring them in. And since, as the world knows, we have a slight snake problem here, we can't bring in snakes or anything that might be tempted to eat a baby bird or eggs. : Yeah, that is a good policy! Snakes wreck havoc on small island systems. However, even though green iguanas are vegetarian, they also mess up the ecosystem. : : >I am planning to take a job on the Mainland in a few months for 6 months to a year. After reading all the stories about male igs lately, I am getting nervous about leaving him with my boyfriend. He hates snakes and it took a while for him to get used to Louie, and he still isn't really too fond of him. I don't want to come back and find an earless boyfriend and an ig rug! : >My sister is a vet tech in Las Vegas, Nevada and my daughter who is studying to be an exotic vet, lives with her. I am sure they would love to ig sit, if I can get him there. : >Any suggestions? : You can read about my travels, which I have documented in hopes of helping out others. In the past couple years, I have filled out so many CITES applications for myself and for others, geez the permit people there (the biologists) practically knew me by my first name. here is the URL, let me know if you have any questions. : http://the.ThoughtShop.net/~meguro/sammy_j/overseas.html : http://www.sagami.ne.jp/%7Eyama/yil/news/marie980602_e.htm : : Oh one more thing, there are only certain designated ports within the Unites States which allow for importation of wildlife and CITES listed animals. You will need to get this list to decide which port you want to use. The second site listed above will tell you how. I used LAX (Los Angeles) since I live right there, this is the only port in the United States I have direct experience with. I do have a friend who worked for years in the New York port though but that is all. : Once you decide on the port you need to contact someone from the US Fish and Wildlife (USFW) to do an inspection so you can take your iguana home, and you will need to fill out a Wildlife Declaration Form 3-177. : You can see it is a big hassle just for one animal and will be a huge expense esp if you insure the iguana when you ship him. Still it is worth it, my iguana Sammy has seen the world!!! : Take care, : Marie n Sammy the green iguana n baby Sapphire the blue iguana : http://the.ThoughtShop.net/~meguro/sapphire/sapphire.html

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