How does one ship live fish to Canada from the US?
April 28, 2010 by
Filed under canada fishing vacation
I was wondering if someone would be able to help me here. What’s the procedure to ship live aquarium fish from the US to Canada using either usps, fedex, ups or any other form of address to address shipment. I know that airport to airport shipment is easy for bulk shipment but what if it’s a few fish or invertebrates? Any info would be appreciated.
I’m definitely interested too, I know the procedures for packing the animals for safe transport if you need anything on that. But any info on the procedure of getting it mailed I’m really interested in. Nice question : )
I believe you need both an export license (from the U.S.) and an import permit (from Canada) to ship live fish.
Airport-to-airport shipment is easy for any amount of fish, but economically not worth it if you are shipping only a few fish, because the airlines have a minimum charge that would be quite expensive for just a small package. Airlines in the U.S. (I don’t know about Canada) only accept freight from “known shippers.” This is a post-9/11/2001 security regulation. I’m not sure how you become a “known shipper,” although I know some fish breeders who are “known shippers.” I assume you would need to ask the individual airline what its rules are.
I have shipped and received fish and invertebrates by USPS and UPS, but never internationally. It’s another case where the post office or the company itself would need to be consulted in advance.