Pet Birds
The following rules apply to the non-commercial importation into Spain of pet birds exclusively from the United States or Canada. For exhibition, exposition, competition, and ornamental birds, click here.
The Rule regarding importation of pet birds have changed recently with the approval of Commission Decision 2007/25/EC as regards certain protection measures in relation to highly pathogenic avian influenza and movements of pet birds accompanying their owners into the Community.
This measure regulates the entry conditions of pet birds into the European Union.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has created a link in its web site regarding the entry of pet animals, including pet birds to Spain. The information is only available in Spanish.
According to Article 1 of Decision 2007/25/EC, movements of pet birds shall be authorized if they comply with any of the following four options:
- have undergone isolation for 30 days prior to export at the place of departure in a third country listed in Council Decision 79/542/EEC [3], or
- undergo quarantine for 30 days after import in the Member State of destination on premises approved in accordance with Article 3(4) of Commission Decision 2000/666/EC[4], or
- have, within the last six months and not later than 60 days prior to dispatch from the third country, been vacinated, and at least on one occasion revaccinated, against avian influenza using a H5 vaccine approved for the species concerned in accordance with the manufacture's instrucctions, or
- have been in isolation for at least 10 days prior to export and have undergone a test to detect the H5N1 antigen o genome as laid down in Chapter 2.1.14 of the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals carried out on a sample taken not earlier than the third day of isolation.
Pet birds shall be acompanied by a veterinary certificate in accordance with Annex II. In the United States, the veterinary certificate may be filled out by any veterinarian accredited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA/APHIS, under the National Veterinary Accreditation Program, NVAP. However, once filled, the certificate must be endorsed by an Official Veterinary employed by the Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (VS/APHIS) of the Department of Agriculture. First, ask your veterinarian whether he/she is accredited under NVAP. If that is not the case, please contact the Area Office of VS/APHIS to request a list of accredited veterinarians near your place of residence. Once the accredited veterinarian has filled and signed the certificate, it will need the endorsement (signature) of a VS/APHIS Official Veterinarian. The accredited veterinarian or VS/APHIS Area Office can inform you of the procedure. In Canada : The certificate must be signed by a licensed veterinarian and endorsed by an Official Veterinarian from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). For more information on how to find an official veterinarian, read this page.
The veterinary certificate shall be complemented by a declaration of the owner in accordance with Annex III. The Minisitry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is preparing a bilingual certificate. Meanwhile, make sure that both Annex II and Annex III are printed in English and in Spanish.
(In order to print the certificate, you will need to install Acrobat Reader, available for free at Adobe's web site).
Poultry according to definition in Directive 90/539/CEE will never be considerered as a pet animal.
Please be aware that if your animal belongs to an exotic species, it might be protected by international agreements. In the case of exotic species, it is advisable to check if the animal is listed by the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).
Please see also our frequently asked questions section.