Hi, I'm moving to Switzerland next summer and I'm planning on taking my cockatiel with me. I come from an EU country (Finland) and cockatiels are not part of any CITES regulations. He is my pet and I'm not importing him for commercial use. What documents do I need to present to customs officers? For additional info I will be flying to Zürich and I will accompany my bird at all times. Does anyone here have any experience importing non-CITES birds into Switzerland from EU countries? Thanks
Thanks for the reply Snoopy, trust me I've read that site over and over and over again in both English and German and it still isn't very clear to me And it definitely doesn't help that it seems to be the only source of information for importing pets! The undertitles on that page are really throwing me off, maybe I'm just dumb. If someone here could dumb it down for me I'd be super grateful. The thing that confuses me the most is ''A veterinary border control is mandatory for all birds entering from a THIRD COUNTRY.'' - Does this mean that a veterinary border control is NOT mandatory for pet birds arriving from EU countries? Thanks in advance
I too think it is indeed confusing. I would advise writing for clarification.
It shouldn't be complicated as you are arriving from an EU country, you don't need a CITES permit, the bird is your pet and you will be on the same flight.
I think it can't hurt to have a veterinary certificate.
Do check with the airline about an acceptable IATA travel carrier. I can recommend the Wingabago, specifically designed for birds. You can also use an airline approved dog kennel modified for your bird. Be sure your bird gets used to it before the flight.
If I read the websites correctly, the exception for birds being imported from an EU country is if the bird is from a protected species - it cites parrots and parakeets. So is OP’s Norwegian Blue from a protected species?
Parrots are defined as ‘social species’, meaning living with conspecifics is intrinsic to the welfare of the bird. To give them the best life they should be kept with others of the species.
This is the ideal. However Swiss animal welfare laws also recognize that there are individuals animals/birds who are not happy living in a group, despite the species norm. Animal welfare is just that, the law won’t force an individual to live in a stressful situation.
In such cases, an exemption from the requirement can be obtained if the parrot and situation meet certain criteria. One needs to contact the Veterinäramt for specifics.
In my opinion, there is far too much emphasis on keeping birds (and some other species) in pairs when more attention should be paid to situations like in the link below where there was an apartment with 165 birds that had to be rescued.