https://www.bournesmoves.com/petrelocation

Pet Relocation Services

We know that many families wouldn't be complete without their non-human members. That's why we offer assistance with Pet Relocation alongside your move to help get the whole family to your new home smoothly. 

Get a Quote

Your pet's safe, comfortable and happy relocation is at the center of our pet relocation services.


We offer worldwide pet shipping services partnering with some of the worlds leading pet transportation experts to provide you peace of mind that your pet's relocation will be handled with the skills and care needed to make sure the whole family can smoothly start their new life overseas.

  • Door to door transportation
  • Advice, guidance and assistance with documentation, import requirements and health arrangements
  • Airline approved travel containers 
  • Pre-flight boarding 
  • Travel planning and flight bookings
  • Customs clearance

Our partners are always members of the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA) so you can rest assured they are in safe hands. 

Getting a quote

To provide you with a quote to relocate your pet we will need the following information:

  • When you want the pet to travel
  • Collection address
  • Destination address
  • Name, age, breed and sex of your pet as applicable
  • Measurements and weight

Measuring your pet

Knowing how to measure your pet can be tricky, you'll need to tell us:

  • Length (from their nose to the base of their tail - not including the tail)
  • Height (from the floor to the top of their head (including perky ears if they have them!)
  • Width (at their widest point)
  • Other measurements may be requested depending on type of pet

Here's a visual guide using the example of a dog:

Measuring a dog for shipping

FREQUENTLY ASKED PET SHIPPING QUESTIONS

Documents

Documentation requirements vary by origin/destination country and by the type of pet you are relocation.

You will be advised in advance of booking what documents you will need to provide and we can provide full guidance on how to obtain these.

Vaccinations and Quarantine

Expert guidance helps make sure you're aware of everything that needs to be done for your pet relocation to be compliant with an individual country's requirements to ensure a smooth journey.

You will be provided with a list of vaccination, quarantine and all other health requirements for your pet based on the country you are relocating to alongside the required timescales.

Are my pets safe in the cargo hold?

As with most things in life, there are no guarantees and the judgement of safety of air travel for your pet has to be yours alone. However, according to an article by Air Cargo World shared by the IPATA relatively few pets experience trouble on airlines, in fact less than 0.01% of pets that fly have an incident. Typically even then this is only because of a mistake by the owner or because the animal is too old to travel. (Read more from IPATA)

To reduce the risk of air travel there are lots of precautions taken in preparing your animal for the relocation, including:

  • Assessing whether the animal is fit for travel and advising you accordingly, including a veterinary assessment.
  • Ensuring crates are of good quality for travel to ensure pets are safely protected and prevented from escape. 
  • Booking of direct flights wherever possible to reduce transit times.
  • Use of approved airlines. 
  • Advising you on proper preparation of pets ready for travel, including how to reduce stress, what vaccinations are required etc. 

Should I sedate my pet prior to travel?

Please do NOT sedate your pet.

The use of any sedative for your pet(s) is strongly discouraged. The main reason for this is because the effects of sedation at altitude can be different than at ground level.  This can affect pets in many adverse ways and can be fatal. 

According to the IPATA website over sedation is the most frequent cause of animal deaths during airline transport (almost 1/2 of all deaths) who advise rather than tranquilizing owners should pre-condition their pet to the travel container as far in advance as possible. 

What information will you need?

Typically we'll need to know:

  • Date of target travel
  • Collection address
  • Destination address
  • For each pet:
    • Name
    • Age
    • Breed
    • Sex
    • Length (Nose to base of tail)
    • Height (Floor to top of head)
    • Width (Widest point)
    • Weight

How do I measure my pet?

  • Length: This means from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail (excluding the tail itself)
  • Length of Front leg to Elbow: From the ground to elbow (either side is fine)
  • Width: With your dog standing and you standing over top, looking straight down, find and measure the widest part of their body.
  • Standing Height: From ground to highest point of the pet (normally head or ears)
  • Sitting Height: When your pet is sitting upright, from the ground to the highest point.

Are there any other helpful resources I can use?

The International Pet and Animal Transportation Association facebook page posts lots of useful information about pet travel. 

If you're relocating to the UK with a pet check out the UK Governments guide to bringing your pet to the UK

Our Process

Find out more about what happens when you work with Bournes

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Resources

A range of useful resources to help guide you through the process, every step of the way

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