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New Requirements and Certificates for Exporting Dogs, Cats, and Ferrets to the European Union
January 12, 2022
To the Canadian veterinary community,
Please note that the European Union (EU) has implemented their Animal Health Law with new import requirements and export certificates for commercial movements of dogs, cats and ferrets to the EU. The EU considers commercial movements of these animals to include travel for the purposes of
- transiting the EU,
- sale or transfer to another owner,
- non-commercial movements of more than 5 animals, and
- non-commercial movements of animals travelling more than 5 days earlier, or 5 days later, than the movement of the owner.
These changes are effective January 15, 2022. As of January 15, 2022 the EU's new import requirements must be met and the new export certificates must be used. Any certificates signed by an official Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) veterinarian dated on or before January 14, 2022 will be accepted by the EU until March 15, 2022.
The new export certificates and information on the new requirements will be posted as soon as it is available. Please continue to check the CFIA website regularly for the most up-to-date information regarding exports to the EU.
If a client needs to export a dog, cat or ferret to the EU using the commercial export certificate before they are available online, or if you have questions about the new requirements, please contact the Animal Health Office in your area for assistance.
The import requirements and export certificates for non-commercial movements (as defined by the EU) of dogs, cats and ferrets to the EU have not changed.
Thank you,
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)