Moving your Furbaby to New Zealand
Moving Furbaby’s to any place can be stressful but to go as far as New Zealand can be an extremely stressful and expensive but a very exciting at the same time. Once you have chosen to bring your pets to New Zealand there are a number of regulations that you need to follow. Dogs and cats arriving from most countries need to do a period of time in quarantine.
Check the regulations out here Some pets are not even allowed to enter New Zealand e.g. snakes, so please check carefully as to whether or not your pets are able to come and what quarantine requirements are necessary.
You’re next concern should be getting that required testing for your pet this must be arranged through your vet and your pet exporter in the country you are leaving from prior to leaving.
You need to check the food that your pet is on and make sure that it is available in New Zealand including any supplements or treats that your pet may desire. New Zealand has top quality pet foods available under their own brands that they also export which can be easily purchased in some countries and if you are able to put your pet onto these brands that may make moving your pet easier with less digestive issues likely.
New Zealand is very protective of its native wildlife and because of this there are strict regulations on having dogs on a lead at all times in public, and there are also strict regulations around taking dogs to beaches during summer especially around Auckland, along with where you can and can not walk dogs including national parks. There are some great blogs out there that can help you find amazing places to visit with your furbaby. You will find New Zealand not as open to receiving pets in shopping places or other public places which you may expect to quite happily take your pets to in your own country. New Zealand is also looking at tightening up the laws around cat ownership and what you may or may not do with them.
So here are my 5 top tips for when you are moving your pets to New Zealand:
1) Make sure you have a well-researched pet travel agent check with expats around their experiences and who they have found to be the best
2) Make sure you understand the community in which you will be living in and what the regulations are around your pets- local councils all differ with their requirements.
3) Make sure your pet is as comfortable as possible on the journey over but remember whatever you put in the crate may be destroyed upon arrival due to biosecurity regulations
4) Help your pet to adjust to a change of diet including supplements if required by researching a New Zealand brand or one available in New Zealand and changing onto this prior to arrival it will make things less stressful for your pets and you.
5) Don’t expect New Zealand to be the same as the country you have come from and don’t be afraid to ask other New Zealand pet owners what is expected and how to make the most of New Zealand with your pets, they love to talk pet and help where ever they can. Join a few New Zealand based pet groups online beforehand to get a feel for how it may be.
