Taking parrot to Spain?

gerturdeanna

Hi guys

I wonder if you could help.

My MIL is over here from Spain visiting my BIL who has become ill. He is no longer able to cope with his (very noisy!!) parrot and MIL who is a devout animal lover wants to take the parrot back to Spain when she leaves.

I have no idea where to start looking for help with this and so hence I'm here, asking for advice.

Could anyone point me in the right direction please?

TIA

snowman2_2

Speak to your vet initially as you will have to find a vet who is licensed by DEFRA to do export health checks for parrots. Most vets are only licensed for cats, dogs and small mammals. Then give DEFRA a ring - your vet should have the correct local number although for large parts of the country it is Carlisle. Ask for small animal exports and then request an application form for an export certificate. They should also send you a specimen export certificate which you should take in good time to your bird vet so they can get any health checks arranged. Spain from memory was fairly straighforward and just needed a visit the day before travel. If your parrot is an unusual species and is CITES listed, that might add to the complication but it is just a matter of being organised. First thing is to find a vet who is licensed to do the exports and get them to talk you through the process.

YorkiePud_3

Hi there ... awww that is so sad ... I don't know anything about the ins and outs of getting the birds abroad like that, but as a parrot owner, can I please suggest that before she takes the parrot, she gets your BIL to record a tape of him saying the things he normally says to the parrot?

Every day words and phrases, tunes ... whatever ... just the sort of things the parrot is used to hearing him say.

It would be terrible if your MIL took this parrot and ended up with a parrot who mutilated itself or sank into a severe depression just because it missed the voice of its owner.

They are such intelligent birds and they DO pine .. sometimes refusing all food until they eventually die of a broken heart at being seperated from their intial owner, so please think about it ... if she played the tape daily, then over a period of time cut it down a bit, to have a familiar voice for the bird to hear just to help the bird #1 get over the tremendous stress of being taken abroad to new surroundings and #2 feel like the owner it loves hasn't abandoned it and is still around until it gets more used to MIL.

It really would help, I am sure! There are so many sad stories about parrots who, for whatever reason, end up with new owners and miss their first owners so much that they prefer to just give up.

gerturdeanna

Oh god I never thought of that!!
Thanks- thats a very good idea!

I've spoken to Defra and they have no problem, just need to sort the export certificate with the VETs first. Does anyone know of airlines who don't charge the earth to transport animals?? BA have just quoted me £400 for the parrot!

YorkiePud_3

£400 ... ???? OMG! ... it isn't something I have ever looked into because I wouldn't like risking the stress it could cause (I know, I am probably far too cautious with em!) ... but ... if the parrot was in a carrying cage, could it not be taken on MIL's knee on the plane?

You could take the cage apart and that could go in baggage, but you can get some small carrying cages for them ... I wonder if they would be allowed onboard "proper" ... ?

It would mean the bird was with someone it knew, and not tucked away in the dark ...

£400 ... whew ... !! Remind me never to emigrate!! *LOL* I think I'd let my parrot Elvis fly there himself ... !! Ha ha ha ha!

snowman2_2

£400 unfortunately sounds about right. You may get it down to £250. Try jets4pets, animalairlines and airpets. They may be able to do it cheaper or even same price but take some of the hassle out of the paperwork for you