I am moving to Switzerland and bringing my cat. I have taken care of all of the necessary documentation, but am still unclear as to whether or not I can bring pet food with me when I arrive. I'm not talking a lot --- just a few cans and some dry food to last a week or so until we can buy some food locally. Is this permissible?
From reading the customs info, they state that you can bring up to 1 kg per person of "Meat and meat products derived from all animal species" duty free, but then later on it says "You may import goods of animal origin for personal use from EU countries, Iceland and Norwaywithout being subject to controls by a border vet. The goods should not be placed on the market.The importation of animal products from other countries (e.g. Turkey) is generally prohibited"
So coming from the US, it's not quite clear what I can and cannot bring. It sounds like provided I'm under 1kg then maybe I'm fine, but that's assuming that pet food counts as a "meat or meat product".
Has anyone had any experience (or difficulty) with this? Thanks!
You'll be fine. You are not bringing 50kg of salami... It's for the cat, Swiss like cats /in my part/, so don't worry too much and pack all the best stuff your cat likes.
I am not a cat owner/importer, but I am 100% sure you and your cat and his/her gourmet meals will get through customs without any trouble.
When relocating, the official rules state (roughly) that you can import anything which you've owned for more than 6 months, so long as you declare on your 18.44 form. In particular, the normal duty-free import rules do not apply, and one may, for example, bring a large liquor collection without paying taxes on it.
In practice, if the inspector cares at all, they will be asking themselves whether the goods appear to be part of a household, or are more consistent with an import for resale.
If it's any help, could you please say which food brand your cat prefers? Are they a fussy eater? If I were you, I'd concentrate on bringing a Feliway plug-in, and be reassured that you can buy Dreamies (Temptations) in almost every Coop and Migros shop . Many brands you may recognise, are freely available in CH. Just to give you an idea, whilst the packaging or name may be different, I bet you recognise a lot of these...
But what about hormone/anti-botic fed, clorine washed US meat that is banned across all of Europe? It will be have been processed though. (Rherorical question)
OP you are not coming to the thirld world, Switzerland has lots of shops, including pet specilty shops and many familiar brands are available.
You might have a challenge on a Sunday or public holiday.
If you have a few days supply it won’t be a problem,
Let's not get food for human consumption mixed up with pet food.
Hence my dry food originates from Canada, and Hill's Science Plan is a US company, etc.
TO the OP, as others have said, this is not Somalia, you can get virtually any food you want here, hoever do not be concerned bringing a couple of weeks supply with you.
Whack this through google with translate to English on:
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Just to add, the reason we'd prefer to bring for is that our cat is allergic to chicken, turkey, and beef, which rules most cat food (she's also old, so her appetite isn't great anymore anyway). In the states she eats just duck and rabbit, which is hard enough to find here so I'm worried it might take a while to track down something. But it sounds like we're fine bringing a week or two supply until we sort things out.
Just did a quick look at Meiko and Fressnapf, two of the larger retailers, and both carried duck and/or rabbit foods.
You will need to read the ingredients list to make sure that the product you are considering is a single protein food or contains only those two, as some will also contain other meats even if labeled as duck or chicken. But it looks like you will have appropriate options to choose from - hopefully your kitty will like some of them.