About Red Tape Travel
Red Tape Travel lists what a dog, cat or ferret needs to fly between Australia, Canada, the European Union, Great Britain, Hawaii, Japan, New Zealand, Northern Ireland and the United States. Each rule links to the primary source it came from and shows the date that source was last verified.
Who runs this site
Red Tape Travel is a GeoVector project. GeoVector runs this site. It is an independent guide, not a government service.
What the site measures about its visitors, and who receives that data, is set out on Privacy and cookies.
What it covers
The rules for flying a dog, cat or ferret into these places, and the steps for taking one out where the sources give them:
- Australia: First-time domestic dog and cat imports from the US mainland using the standard preparation and minimum quarantine pathway. The dog countdown uses leptospirosis vaccination. Returning-pet concessions, assisted import exemptions, breeding or pregnant animals, hybrid cats, Hawaii and Guam preparation are outside this planner. Departures to the US mainland are also covered; check state and local rules separately.
- Canada: This release covers personal dogs and domestic cats travelling with their owners from the US mainland, Great Britain or the EU, using the rabies-vaccination-certificate pathway or the young-animal proof-of-age exception. Departures to those destinations are also covered. Commercial imports, assistance-dog exemptions, hybrid animals, antibody-test alternatives, medical rabies exemptions and unaccompanied puppies, other unaccompanied pets and country-freedom certificates are outside this planner. Provincial and local requirements have not been researched.
- European Union: The EU member states, for pets moving in from another member state or from outside the EU. Northern Ireland follows the same rules on its own page.
- Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. Guide and assistance dogs follow the same rules.
- Hawaii: The State of Hawaii, which sets its own rules for every dog and cat that arrives.
- Japan: This release covers first-time dog and cat imports from the United States outside Hawaii and Guam, using the standard non-designated-region preparation sequence. Departures to the US mainland are also covered. Returning-pet exceptions and designated-region import procedures are not yet covered.
- New Zealand: First-time domestic dog and cat imports from the US mainland to New Zealand using primary rabies preparation, with separate arrival periods around April 1, 2027. The future plan is preparation only: USDA says the updated US-specific certificates have not yet been posted. Dogs use the stated testing and vaccination options and must have no African travel history. Returning New Zealand pets, hybrids, breeding or pregnant animals, assistance concessions, sea travel and Hawaii or Guam preparation are outside this countdown. Departures to the US mainland cover ordinary pets using the low-risk dog travel-history pathway; US state and local rules need separate checks.
- Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland, which stays in the EU pet travel scheme.
- United States: Federal rules for pets entering the US mainland. Each state can add its own entry rules.
The pet policies of these airlines:
- Air Canada
- Air New Zealand Cargo
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Delta Air Lines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Japan Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Qantas Freight
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
A route page joins both ends for one animal: the verdict, the steps in the order they must happen, deadlines counted back from your arrival date, what airlines offer, and the sources. Each page has a scope line that says what its rules cover. Places, animals and airlines not listed here are not covered.
How rules are sourced and verified
Every rule comes from a primary source: a government page, the law itself, or an airline’s own page. A copy of each source’s text is stored with the site’s data, and each rule cites the exact words in that text that support it. A rule with no primary source is not added. Each source carries the date it was last verified, and every change is recorded in a public change log. When a check finds that a source’s text has changed, the pages that cite it say so until the source is verified again.
What the dates on a page mean
- Verified.
- A source was read, and the rules on this site match it. Each source shows the date it was last verified. A page’s Last verified date is that of its oldest source, so every source the page uses was verified on that day or later.
- Checked.
- A source’s text was fetched again and has the same words as when it was last verified. A check is not a verification. It does not move the Last verified date.
The change log
What changed lists every entry in the log, newest first, each with its official source. A rule change shows what the rule was, what it is now, when it takes effect and which pages it affects. “Re-verified, no change” means a source was read again and the rules still match it. The log can also hold “Source unchanged (hash match)”, where a check found a source’s text unchanged.
What this site is not
Red Tape Travel states what the rules require. It is not legal or veterinary advice, and it is not a government service. Rules change without notice, and an airline can offer less than the rules allow. Confirm each item against the linked official page, and with your airline, before you book. The official page is the authority. Ask your pet’s vet about treatment and fitness to fly.
Report an error
If a rule, date or link looks wrong, email privacy@redtapetravel.com. Say which page, what is wrong, and send a link to the official page that says otherwise. A rule changes here only when a primary source supports the change.
The Report an error link in the footer of every page starts that email with the page’s address in the subject.