the drama of importing a grey

[mareeee]

And now for a long story:

 

 

My husband and I recently returned from two years in Guinea, West Africa as Peace Corps Volunteers. During our first year, we decided to adopt a 5 month old TAG we named Charlie. He was wild caught in Guinea. (I know I know... we'll save that one for a different forum topic...).

 

We weren't sure if we'd bring him home with us or not at the end of our service, then a friend of ours with a parrot said that they had changed the process and said it was now easy to do. (as it turned out, it is NOT easy, but before it wasn't even legal at all, so I guess that's one improvement.)

 

I see why they don't want to make it too easy to import exotic birds, but I still wish it would have been a little more user friendly. But, we're dealing with the government here, so I may be asking too much.

 

While I was going through this though, I wished I could find ANYONE who I could talk to who had endured the importing process. So, now I want to offer my experience to anyone crazy enough to try to import an african grey.

 

THE PROCESS:

First, you have to have lived out of the US for at least one full year to even consider importing a grey.

 

Next you need a bunch of paperwork and permits:

-CITES permit issued by the country you're leaving

-Federal Fish and Wildlife permit for importing a live AND protected species (to get this, you need a copy of the CITES permit, proof of where you acquired the bird, and write a bunch of signed statements about a bunch of stuff - ie: its a pet and not for resale, etc. This was the worst one to get. AND it takes about 3 months to get it after you apply for it.)

-USDA permit to import

-Application for reservation at quarantine

-Health certificate signed by a GOVERNMENT vet

 

Each of these costs money.

-FFW permit is $50

-USDA permit is $137

-Quarantine is $440

-CITES permit from Guinea was amazing: $1

-Health certificate, the government guy actually gave it to me as a gift. I think he felt sorry for me.

 

Then there's the flight and approved pet kennel. We actually found a free kennel and just had a bamboo perch and cloth cover made for it. The flight on Royal Air Maroc charged $200 for him, but they allowed him to ride in the cabin under the seat, which was great since it was such a long international flight.

 

After the 30 days of quarantine in New York, we had to figure out a way to have him sent to us in Utah, where we now live. This is the only point we used a broker, which kind of sucked, but was our only option. We paid a broker $150 to pick him up from quarantine and drop him at the airport. The cargo shipment from Continental Airlines cost $160. There were much cheaper cargo options, but Continental has the best pet program and the only one who will ship when its this cold (Charlie arrived on a day when it was -6*F, with -30*F windchills... yuck.).

 

USDA recommends that you use a customs broker to deal with importing/paperwork/permits/etc. I understand why: IT IS THE BIGGEST HEADACHE! Especially when you don't know what you need to do and are dealing with government officials from long distance. Brokers are quite expensive though...

 

That said, it is possible to do all on your own! Just be prepared for it to be difficult and time consuming. Especially if you're doing it all from overseas.

 

For us, the worst part was that we were living in a corrupt third world country that dissolved into turmoil. We actually had to leave 2 months before we were scheduled because of a massacre on the public by the military and resulting political upheaval. Fun. But again, that's a different, very long story. Luckily for Charlie's sake, we had already started the process to get all the permits. If we hadn't we would have had to leave him behind. Also luckily, the people at the permit offices were very nice and willing to work with us from afar, even though it was a weird situation. We ended up just traveling around for a month while we waited for the permits to be processed. They also allowed us to get the health certificate from the Mali government, since the Guinean government didn't really exist anymore. So it all amazingly worked out.

 

At every step though, we kept asking ourselves: is this worth it? Everything just seemed so difficult trying to figure out and accomplish from afar. But now that Charlie is back on my shoulder, I am glad we endured! He is such a trooper! Getting evacuated from Guinea, traveling around for over a month, and then being stuck in quarantine for a month were not the easiest on him, but he stayed happy through it all and still loves us. I was worried that he would be mean or forget us after such a long time in quarantine, but the first thing he wanted when I let him out of his kennel was to have his head scratched. He bowed very graciously and let me love him as long as I wanted.

 

Anyway, sorry for such a long post, but I mean it to be a reference in case any one needs information on importing a grey. If you are, I am more than willing to answer any questions or help you as much as I know how. Like I said, the toughest part seemed to be just figuring it all out!

[Luvparrots]

This is a wonderful story of how for the love of Charlie you endured so many different challenges to bring him home with you. Thank you for sharing this with us. Karma to you for your love of your grey, Charlie!!! May you all have a long and happy life!!!

[she]

What a heart warming story.Charlie is a trooper and you also for sticking to you goal of bringing him home with you.This brings to mind, with Charlie being wild caught the saying "You remain responsable forever for that which you tame" You have lived up to this saying .Thank you for posting this.<br><br>Post edited by: she, at: 2010/01/11 13:01

[ecodweeb]

This is exactly what I needed to kickoff my week. Thank you for this very positive success story about importation and really saving the life of an endangered species.

[ramsabi]

The only way I can show my admiration is by giving you karma.

[danmcq]

What a wonderful story with a happy ending.

 

It's GreYt that you wnet through some much expense, research and paperwork to bring your flock member t obe with you. Charlie is a trooper and will always be with his much loved family now. :-)

 

Thanks for sharing this important information.

[Eckobird]

Wow what a great story! I can tell you have a lot of love for Charlie, you never gave up on him and thats wonderful! I hope to hear his story of being a wild caught grey, I would love to know how you tamed him!

[JillyBeanz]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us Mareeee ~ what an interesting read. What a rigmarole - but just shows how much you love your baby. Looking forward to hearing more about you all

[judygram]

Thanks Mareeee for sharing that story with us, you weren't about to leave Charlie behind and I am so glad you did what you had to to keep him in your family.

[kittykittykitty]

So glad you and your Charlie are home safe and together again. A beautiful story. Thank you. :)

[jessdecutie18]

What an experience! Is that the same as bringing a bird from the US to Germany or Japan and back? Is that what we will have to go through? I'm in the Air Force and we are most likely going overseas in a year... and leaving behind Yoshi is not an option!

[SunnyBird]

jessdecutie18 wrote:

What an experience! Is that the same as bringing a bird from the US to Germany or Japan and back? Is that what we will have to go through? I'm in the Air Force and we are most likely going overseas in a year... and leaving behind Yoshi is not an option!

 

Then I suggest you start the paperwork as soon as you can. You will also need a pet passport and a microchip implanted.

 

I was considering buying a CAG and exporting it from NY when I was moving to Greece 2 years ago, so while I was doing the paperwork for my cat I spoke to the official at the Fish and Wildlife Agency which has an office at JFK airport. I had to go there to have my cat's health certificate from an "approved" vet (not all vets have the certification) stamped by them for an additional fee.

 

Please note that depending on which country you are going to, you have to visit their consulate and get their forms and instructions from them otherwise they may reject your application. I can only speak for the EC which supposedly has one set of rules but even so, between them some countries have additional requirements. Then there are probably countries which will probably not let you import a bird at all...

 

Anyhow, besides the restrictions and difficulties, the birds suffer in quarantine, especially when they are pets. Some don't make it due to psychological reasons, the stress of it all. I am glad that the story below had a happy ending but it's not always like that. This is what I was told by them.

 

Also, you have to make sure that the country you are going to will let you take the bird out with you again. Don't take anything for granted - the rules with birds are much tougher than with domestic animals, especially after the bird flu.

 

I bought a yellow crowned amazon instead of a yellow naped or double yellow headed one from my breeder here in Greece only because he told me that if I ever wanted to leave Greece with my bird, the Greek government would not give me a CITES certificate for the 2 latter species.... although the rest of Europe does.

 

Good luck. If your assignment is a year or less I wouldn't even consider it.<br><br>Post edited by: SunnyBird, at: 2010/01/12 17:06

[mareeee]

Thanks everyone for your support! I am definitely glad to have him back

 

jess -- since you already have a US bird, it is apparently at lot easier. Just make sure you get all his permits and paperwork and stuff BEFORE you leave the country. I think USDA site said something about a pet passport if you plan on him traveling often? I didn't learn as much about that though. Something I read mentioned something about in-home quarantine instead of USDA quarantine too in those cases, which will be a lot easier on you and Yoshi!

 

 

In other news: Charlie ate pellets for the first time yesterday! I was pretty excited that he was willing to try them. I had to trick him in to trying them, but now he's eating them just fine! Giving him an all-fresh diet is not as practical here as it was in Africa...