Do you import or export dogs, cats or birds?

Important new laws for Pet Travel Boxes

The International Plant Protection Division of the United Nations has introduced phytosanitary measures to reduce the risk of introduction and/or spread of quarantine pests associated with wood packaging material in use in International Trade.

The practical application of these new worldwide laws will mean that all raw wood packaging material, including pet travel boxes, entering and leaving South Africa, will have to comply with I.S.P.M. 15 requirementsof the International Standard on Phytosanitary Measures. This requires that all packaging materials made of unprocessed raw wood, either imported into or exported from South Africa must have been TREATED and MARKED as such.

The South African Department of Agriculture has advised that plant health inspectors will be authorized to examine international cargo entering or leaving South Africa to ensure compliance. Pet travel boxes which do not comply with these regulations may be prevented from leaving South Africa or being refused entry into countries that adhere to this convention.

South Africa and the European Union will commence applying these regulations strictly from 1 March 2005 and will be followed by, for example, the United States, as from September 2005.

Wooden travel boxes that comply with this new regulation will carry a special marking with a symbol, the letters IPPC, together with other letters and numbers, similar to the sketch below:

Travel boxes not bearing this mark are subject to interception and return at the sender's expense.

The first manufacturer of pet travel boxes to receive official approval from the South African Department of Agriculture is PETWINGS, the transport division of Keringa International, South Africa's most comprehensive pet services group.