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angeldog
Joined: 21 Mar 2011
Posts: 4
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 Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 12:50 pm Post subject: Bringing pets to Mexico |
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Hi,
I'm new to this forum and ran a search on this topic but got no results. Tried to search (more broadly) a second time and was told to try again later so please no
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advice please. 
Does anyone have any information about whether it's possible to bring pets (from Canada) to Mexico? I am hoping to move to Oaxaca or Chiapas to volunteer (to start) teach ESL (I am TEFL qualified with BA and have been working as a librarian for the past 8 years). |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, it is quite common to see people bring pets from Canada to Mexico (and back again!). Here are two links. Most important to note are the health certificates needed. Otherwise, it is usually an easy process.
http://www.solutionsabroad.com/en/relocating/relocating-category/pets-in-mexico.html
http://www.mexperience.com/living/bringing-pets-to-mexico.php
I'll add a detail from my own experience. Make deadly doubly triply sure the airline (if you're flying) does not ship your animal as cargo. There is a difference between shipped as cargo and as checked baggage - I don't believe it can fly as carry-on anymore but if it can, great. All cargo arrives in Mexico at a different place than checked baggage and will require a customs broker to liberate it as well as duty. That process can sometimes take days, not a nice thing for a cat, dog, boa constrictor or whatever it is you're bringing.
In my experience, Canadian and American airlines are terrible for not informing passengers of what awaits them at the Mexico end when they innocently inform you your pet will travel as cargo. Make sure pooch is classified as checked baggage. |
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TeresaLopez
Joined: 18 Apr 2010
Posts: 601
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
I'll add a detail from my own experience. Make deadly doubly triply sure the airline (if you're flying) does not ship your animal as cargo. There is a difference between shipped as cargo and as checked baggage - I don't believe it can fly as carry-on anymore but if it can, great.
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Just to reinterate what Guy said, this is REALLY important, because if your pet flys as cargo it will not get the same treatment. I have taken my dog back and forth a few times to Chicago, I realize that is not Canada, but the rules are similar, and the one time I flew on a cheap ticket on an airline I hate, my dog went as cargo, and I had to wait a couple of hours to get him, and he was not in good shape, had not been fed or watered since the plane landed. If at all possible, I highly recommend Aeromexico, they have a cabin for pets that is attended, and they will water your pet as well. It is around $100 US, which is the same as if the pet goes as cargo. Once you have your ticket call the airline for details, even though the rules for entering Mexico with your pet don�t change there are sometimes differnces from airline to airline. For example, Aeromexico asked for a letter from the vet dated within 72 hours stating the dog was up to date on shots and healthy (this is the US entry requirement), but they also asked for a photocopy of the vet�s Cedula Professional, which I had not been asked for on that other (crappy) airline. It�s an easy, painless process if your pet is used to a crate, if not I would recommend getting him used to one now, it will be a lot less stressful. |
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notamiss
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 908
Location: El 5o pino del la CDMX
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angeldog
Joined: 21 Mar 2011
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Thank you Guy, TeresaLopez and notamiss. Very helpful. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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If your dog is 18 pounds (8 kilos) or less, you might check DELTA and Air Canada. They both allow dogs in the cabin with you on flights from Canada to the US and some other destinations - I don't know about Mexico. You have to book them in advance, just as with checked animals.
The schnauzer usually flies in his crate as checked bag - the compartment for animals in most jetliners is directly under the pilot, and is the quietest 'seat' on the entire plane.
As the biggest danger (prior to customs!) when flying with a pet is that it gets lost in transfer or loaded somehow onto the wrong plane, I always ask the boarding attendants to confirm that my dog is indeed on the flight before take-off. I ask both at the gate (they can call the ground guys to ask) and with the air hostesses as I board (they can confirm with the pilot, who will have a record of any animals travelling on his/her manifest). Once I am 100% sure the dog is on the aircraft - and that everyone in charge knows he is  - I can relax a bit.
I don't hesitate to ask the lost luggage attendants at our destination if the dog doesn't show up pretty quickly. They are usually quite helpful, particularly if the weather is cold or hot.
None of this is specifically for Mexico - but the schnauzer's got a LOT of air miles behind him - and is about to rack up another Canada-Europe trip this week Wish us a safe flight - I'm always a bit nervous for his sake, though he's cool as a cucumber at the airports! |
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Fitzgerald
Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:32 am Post subject: |
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The information in the thread so far is very useful. Has anyone brought a more unusual pet to Mexico than a dog or a cat? I'm finishing my contract in Korea shortly, and then I'm coming to Mexico to teach at a very good university, which I'm excited about. I have three pets and I'd like to bring all of them with me if possible. My cat is small and can come with me in-cabin, as she did coming from the U.S. to Korea. She's a really good traveler.
My other two pets are a cockatiel and a hedgehog. It is a little difficult figuring out what special regulations there may be for bringing these in. I can have my vet here in Korea do any necessary paperwork for both, of course. The cockatiel is not a species native to Mexico (which would complicate matters) and is not protected on the CITES lists (ditto).
As far as the air travel goes, I'm hoping that Air Canada's "Live Product" program, or Delta's Pet Program, may be able to help me. I don't think that Air Canada would take the pets as excess baggage in the month of July because of heat concerns, especially on a flight to Mexico City. But I'm just starting my research, and what will no doubt be many emails and phone calls, so any insights are welcome.
If for whatever reason it were absolutely impossible to bring the cockatiel and/or hedgehog to Mexico, of course I would re-home them here in Korea, but I hope not to have to do that. They are special to me. |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2011 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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Tough question...I looked around and couldn't find much info.
http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazines/bird-talk/2009-march/traveling-to-mexico.aspx
That has a bit of possibly helpful info regarding the cockatiel...you'll probably have to check directly with a Mexican consulate on it and the hedgehog. If it helps at all, I have seen hedgehogs sold as pets here.
I also came across a reference in a forum stating that there was a problem bringing more than two pets into Mexico....something else to inquire about beyond the species. |
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Fitzgerald
Joined: 10 Aug 2010
Posts: 224
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 8:35 am Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
Tough question...I looked around and couldn't find much info.
http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazines/bird-talk/2009-march/traveling-to-mexico.aspx
That has a bit of possibly helpful info regarding the cockatiel...you'll probably have to check directly with a Mexican consulate on it and the hedgehog. If it helps at all, I have seen hedgehogs sold as pets here.
I also came across a reference in a forum stating that there was a problem bringing more than two pets into Mexico....something else to inquire about beyond the species. |
Thank you! That website is very detailed but is now out of date, as I discovered through more digging yesterday. At the end of 2010, Mexico instituted a total overhaul of its animal and animal products import regulations. The new codes are still in the process of being compiled; anything not covered in the codes yet would have to be handled as a special situation, and I can only imagine what that would be like. Generally, the effect of the new regulations is to leave it quite easy to bring dogs and cats into Mexico, and very, very difficult for someone who is not a professional animal importer to bring in any other species.
http://portal.sre.gob.mx/conreinounido/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=211&op=page&SubMenu=
http://www.senasica.gob.mx/?id=2587
"In Mexico, only consider dogs and cats as pets." That is pretty clear. Anything other than cats and dogs are considered as livestock or zoo animals, or the functional equivalent.
The regulatory hurdles for bringing in pet birds are now mind-boggling, and involve extensive medical testing and a 30-day quarantine for the bird before it comes into Mexico.
I have not been able to find existing regulations for hedgehogs, or indeed for many more common pet species such as rabbits; possibly these are to come, but for now they would all be treated as special situations.
However, there are regulations for bringing in ferrets, and those are also daunting, so it does not seem that Mexico intends to make it easy to bring in any pet species other than dogs and cats, which tourists, expatriates, retirees, and snowbirds are all used to bringing. There would probably be quite a hoo-ha if they changed the canine and feline regs much, so these are still quite lenient.
It is true that there is a charge of $1,620 Mexican pesos, about $150.00 USD, for bringing in three or more pets even if they are just dogs and cats. There is also a lot more paperwork.
So it appears that I shall have to re-home my hedgehog and cockatiel here in Korea, which saddens me, but they are delightful animals that will make good pets for someone. I had been a little concerned about transporting the cockatiel, since birds are delicate and easily break their wings if they get overly excited in a strange situation. The hedgehog is much hardier.
Even if I could get past the formidable regulatory barriers to getting these two into Mexico, the overall costs (not to mention hours of effort) would be astronomical in comparison to getting a new hedgehog and cockatiel there. I am sentimental, but I am also practical, and I do not have unlimited resources.
But the barriers are so considerable that the Mexican government is really making the decision for me. |
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