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Pet Travel

Bringing a pet bird into Ireland from a non-EU country, including Great Britain

Your pet must:

  • be accompanied by original paperwork, not copies
  • arrive in Ireland with you, or within five days before or after you travel (provided it is accompanied by someone else)

You can bring a maximum of five pets into Ireland per person under pet travel rules.

If you are travelling to Ireland to sell your pet, for any change of ownership including rehoming through a charity or gifting, or if the pet is not travelling within five days of your travel, there are different rules. Please contact livetrade@agriculture.gov.ie for further information if required.

 Species

A pet bird is a companion bird that travels with the owner (or with a person representing the owner as long as it is within 5 days of the owner), and the movement does not involve any change of ownership, including rehoming or gifting.

Rules for the entry of pet birds into Ireland do not apply to the following bird species. There are other rules that must be followed to bring a bird of these species into Ireland:

  • chickens
  • turkeys
  • guinea fowl
  • ducks
  • geese
  • quails
  • pigeons
  • partridges
  • ratites

Please contact livetrade@agriculture.gov.ie for information about moving with these types of birds within the EU,

or see Live Animal Imports: Poultry if coming from outside the EU.

 Certification Requirements

Pet Bird Health Cert 22 (pdf 2,966Kb)   

 

  • You may bring no more than five pet birds per person into Ireland from a non-EU country in one consignment.
  • The birds must be individually identified with a permanent, non-removable, legible individual marking displaying an alpha-numeric code, e.g. leg ring or microchip. This must be applied before any quarantine or testing (see below)
  • You must have the appropriate health certificate signed by an official government vet and associated owner declaration.
  • Only birds coming from an OIE member countrymay enter Ireland. Further information regarding the OIE is available here: Regional Commissions - OIE - World Organisation for Animal Health
  • Each bird must:
    • have undergone official veterinary isolation for 30 days prior to export at the place of departure (only if the country of origin is listed in the first column of the table set out in Part 1 of Annex V, Annex XIV or Annex XIX to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404 ), OR
    • in the territory or third country of dispatch, they were kept in isolation under the supervision of an authorised veterinarian or an official veterinarian for a period of at least 14 days prior to the date of dispatch to the EU, AND were subjected to an avian influenza H5 and H7 antigen or genome detection test carried out with negative results on a sample taken by an authorised veterinarian or an official veterinarian not earlier than the seventh day of isolation; (these tests must meet the requirements of Chapter 3.3.4 in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals, 8th Edition, 2018, of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE))
  • Each bird must be clinically examined by an authorised or official veterinarian within 48 hours of dispatch or on the last working day prior to the date of dispatch, and must be found to be free of any obvious signs of disease
  • Between the clinical inspection referred to above and the departure time the pet birds have not been in contact with any other birds.
  • The birds must be kept is isolation at their premises of destination in the EU for 30 days and not be entered into any fairs, shows, exhibitions or any other gatherings of birds.
  • In advance of travel you must arrange for a compliance check to be carried out in Ireland immediately upon arrival (see below), noting that only certain times may be available
  • You must check with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (cites@housing.gov.ie) if a CITES licence is required for your bird and if a certificate is required it must be presented at the compliance check. These requirements may apply to birds of endangered species.

You must arrange a compliance check in advance of any movement, this can be arranged by emailing the following points of entry before your travel plan is finalised:

If arriving into Dublin Port or Rosslare Port from Great Britain, please note special arrangements in the port may apply. Please follow the instructions given to you at the time.

If you have any questions, please contact livetrade@agriculture.gov.ie

Pet Bird Health Cert 22 (pdf 2,966Kb)    

Your vet should strike through the remaining options not chosen (official pre-movement quarantine or avian influenza testing) where appropriate.

Please note the un-redacted health certificate mentions

  • Vaccination against Avian influenza
  • Post-arrival official quarantine or derogation in place of avian influenza testing or pre-movement quarantine.

These options are NOT available to pet birds wishing to move directly to Ireland.


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