Formalities to bring your pet in South Africa

HI,

I recently imported my two cats into Joburg from the UK.  It was a pretty painless procedure, but I did opt to use a pet travel agent to ensure that all of the paperwork was completed properly and the cats weren't put straight back on the plane!

I had to have a DEFRA export health certificate and an SA import permit.  The cats must have a valid rabies vaccination and a microchip, and there were no quarantine restrictions.   

The cats came in the hold of a BA plane, and they must be in a IATA approved crate, which the travel agent had made for us.  Al pets entering SA must be booked as manifest cargo - they cannot be booked as excess luggage or baggage.

Although you could certainly achieve importation of your pet without using a pet travel agent, I did not have the time to fulfil all the paperwork and they know exactly what they are doing.  I would recommend using that route if you can afford it - I didn't find it to be much  more expensive than if I had done it myself, but it was the time and convenience that I paid the extra for really.  You have too much else to worry about when you are emigrating!

I used a Feliway pheromone diffuser in their crate that they flew and also plugged in at the new place to try and make it as easy as possible for the cats, although they were absolutely fine when they arrived.