Shipping Animals (Living or Dead)

Live Animals

Introduction

Specific guidelines for the acceptance, care, handling and container requirements are published in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Live Animal Regulations Manual, which is the mandatory standard for transporting live animals by commercial airlines.  Other regulations are USDA Animal Welfare Act and the US Code of Federal Regulations Parts 9 and 50. Go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ for detailed instructions and information. 

Normally, if you need to ship a live animal from UA to another location, you would choose to use the quickest shipment method possible.  This would normally mean shipping via air transport.  In the event that you need to ship live animals, please note the following:

From the FedEx Live Animal Policy:

    FedEx does not accept live-animal shipments as part of its regular scheduled service. Live animals will be accepted when the shipment is coordinated and approved by the FedEx Live Animal Desk. Acceptable shipments include, but are not limited to, zoo animals (to and from zoo locations only) and horses (from gateway to gateway locations only). Household pets, such as domestic cats and dogs, and live fish are not accepted. For more information, contact the FedEx Live Animal Desk at 1.800.405.9052.

Other carriers will accept animal shipments, as long as those animals meet health certification requirements as imposed by the USDA, but their requirements and restrictions vary from company to company.

Also, be aware that environmental conditions will also affect your shipment.  Most carriers will not ship animals if animals will be exposed to temperatures above 85°F or below 45°F, either at the point of shipping or at the point of receiving.

Labeling

For shipment on a commercial airlines, all labeling and documentation must be complete prior to putting an animal on a plane.  Examples of the stickers/labeling normally used for airline shipping is given below.

To Meet USDA requirements, use CS-345

CS-444 meets IATA requirements when used with the CS-345

In addition, a USDA Health Certificate must accompany animals in order to be accepted by airlines for shipment.  This inspection must be completed by the departmental veterinarian and should be done within 10 days of shipment.  Other paperwork should be completed as usual for shipping purposes.

Be aware that the receiving location may have additional requirements regarding paperwork, certifications, and testing that you must address prior to shipping.  To insure the health and security of the animals, shipments should not be placed after 4pm on Wednesday during a normal business week.  Shipping later in the week may result in animals being left unattended over a weekend in an airport cargo containment facility.

Shipping or Transporting Live or Dead Animals Containing Hazardous Materials

Transportation of hazardous materials in general poses special problems, this is significantly amplified (e.g. potential spread through excreta) when the material is contained in an animal. It is therefore important that appropriate precautions are incorporated both during the transportation and after the animals have arrived at their destination. Due to complexity of these requirements, the investigators planning to transport live animals containing radioactive materials, biohazards (e.g. human pathogens) or chemicals (e.g. carcinogens) from one location to another should contact EHS for guidance.

Dead Animals

Dead animal carcasses are regulated through the Federal Regulations regarding Medical Waste.  For questions or concerns regarding these arrangements, please contact EHS at 348-5905.