Change of https://www.gov.uk/guidance/export-live-animals-special-rules

Change description : 2019-07-10 10:35:00: Forms EC3163 and EC3164 updated [Brexit]

Showing diff : ..2019-07-12 11:17:22 +00:00

Guidance

Export live animals

What certificates importers and exporters need to move live animals in both the EU and outside the EU from the UK.

Published 9 November 2016

Last updated 10 July 2019 — see all updates
From:
Animal and Plant Health Agency

What you need to do to move or export live animals depends on whether you’re exporting them:

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, you’ll need to apply for an export health certificate (EHC) if you’re exporting live animals to the EU.

Find out how to apply for an EHC and download the forms.

Within the EU: current rules

To move animals within the EU you must:

Apply for an ITAHC

  1. Nominate an official veterinarian to inspect your goods. To find one, ask at your local vet or email ovteam@apha.gsi.gov.uk.
  2. Register with the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) system if you’ve not used it before.
  3. Sign in to TRACES and fill in the details of the live animals you’re exporting.
  4. Contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) or Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland. Tell them that the ITAHC has been created and give them details of your official veterinarian.
  5. Your certificate will be sent to your official veterinarian within 7 working days. If your official veterinarian doesn’t receive the certificate, contact the APHA Centre for International Trade Carlisle.
  6. Include the certificate when you export your consignment.

Instead of using TRACES, you can complete Application for Veterinary Health Certification (EXA31) (PDF, 829KB, 7 pages) using the guidance notes (PDF, 104KB, 6 pages) to help you. Send the completed form to the APHA Centre for International Trade Carlisle.

Your ITAHC will be valid for 10 days after the inspection. There’s no fee for the certificate, but your vet will charge you for their time.

If there isn’t an ITAHC for your species of animal, contact APHA (or DAERA in Northern Ireland).

Check if your animal holding needs to be registered or approved

As well as an ITAHC, you must register your holding or get it approved before you can move certain animals in the EU. Your holding is the place you keep your animals in the UK.

You must register your holding to move:

  • hoofed animals (ungulates) that aren’t livestock
  • birds that aren’t commercial poultry
  • rabbits and hares
  • dogs, cats and ferrets that do not meet the usual rules for pet travel (for example rescue animals being rehomed abroad)

You must get your holding approved to move:

  • any animal to another approved holding
  • carnivores or primates, for example monkeys, apes, lemurs
  • semen or embryos

You do not need to register or get approval to move other types of animal.

There’s a different process for animal holdings in Northern Ireland - contact your local DAERA office.

Apply to register your holding

Complete the Application from the Owner or Manager of a Premises for Registration (form EC3163) (PDF, 62KB, 3 pages) . Send it to the APHA Centre for International Trade Carlisle.

You’ll get a registration number to use on your export health certificates.

You must get your holding approved before you can move animals to an approved holding.

Apply to get your holding approved

Complete Application of an Establishment for Approval (form EC3164) (PDF, 66.8KB, 3 pages) and send it to your regional veterinary lead (RVL). To find your RVL, contact APHA. Form EC3164 is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg) (PDF, 116KB, 3 pages) .

An inspector will arrange a visit to your holding to check that it has:

  • walls, fences or other barriers separating it from the surrounding area
  • equipment, facilities and staff to catch, confine and isolate animals
  • quarantine facilities to isolate and test animals from non-approved holdings
  • a surveillance programme for incoming animals agreed with your vet
  • a clean and separated facility for carrying out post-mortems
  • a system for disposing of carcasses agreed with your vet

You also must make sure you:

  • keep records of animals’ age, sex, species, blood tests and diseases
  • employ an official vet - you can find one by asking at your local vet, or by emailing ovteam@apha.gsi.gov.uk

Once your holding is approved

Contact APHA to move animals from your holding. You’ll get an approval number to use on your export health certificates.

Your holding must be inspected annually. You’ll normally be contacted by your RVL, but it’s your responsibility that the inspection takes place.

Your approval will be suspended if your holding breaks any of the approval conditions or if the RVL finds:

  • any notifiable disease
  • viral enteritis or aleutian disease in mink
  • tuberculosis in apes and non-domestic cats
  • European foulbrood, varroasis or acariasis in bees
  • myxomatosis, viral haemorraghic disease, tularaemia in rabbits and hares

You’ll be given time to fix the problem, but the RVL can withdraw your approval if you do not.

Outside the EU: current rules

You will usually need to complete an export health certificate (EHC) and some supporting documents to export a live animal.

There are some types of live animals you cannot export, and cases where you do not need a certificate. If you cannot find the EHC you need, contact APHA.

The EHC is an official document that confirms your export meets the health requirements of the destination country.

An official vet or inspector will check that your export meets the health requirements of the destination country. They’ll complete and sign the certificate, and give it to you.

Find out how to apply for an EHC and download the forms.

Use the most up to date EHC

EHCs are sometimes updated when export agreements are changed so make sure you are using the latest version of a certificate. The EHC form finder will always have the latest version.

Out of date forms will be rejected and cause delays to your exports.

You can sign up for alerts by subscribing to the feed on the EHC form finder. You’ll then get an email when a form is updated.

Transporting animals

You must make sure you meet animal welfare standards when transporting animals.

Endangered animals

Use the Species+ tool to search for your animal. Check which annex (A, B, C or D) it’s classified as under EU wildlife trade regulations.

What you need to do depends on whether you’re exporting within the EU or outside the EU.

If Species+ says the animal is banned, you cannot export it.

Within the EU

If the animal is classed as Annex B, C or D, you do not need to do anything.

If it’s classed as Annex A, you must apply for an Article 10 certificate unless you’re:

  • exporting live animals for non-commercial reasons like scientific research
  • exporting certain captive bred birds
  • re-exporting live animals that were bred in captivity

In these 3 cases, you do not need to do anything.

There are special rules for wild disabled birds of prey (PDF, 79.9KB, 4 pages) .

Apply for an Article 10 certificate

Complete the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Article 10 application form.

Email the completed form to wildlife.licensing@apha.gsi.gov.uk or post it to the APHA Centre for International Trade Bristol.

Include any supporting documents that show you acquired the product legally, for example:

  • a copy of the import permit
  • a previous Article 10 certificate (use the yellow copy)

The certificate costs £31.

You should get your certificate within 15 working days.

Outside the EU

If it’s classed as A, B or C, you need a CITES export permit.

If it’s classed as D, check the animal’s CITES listing in the Species+ tool. If it’s in Appendix III, you’ll need a CITES export permit. Otherwise you do not need to do anything.

Apply for a CITES export permit

Complete CITES permit application form FED0172.

If you’re re-exporting a species, include its CITES import permit to prove it legally entered the EU.

Email or post the completed form to the APHA Centre for International Trade Bristol.

An exit permit costs £63 or £37 if you’re re-exporting. You should receive it within 15 working days.

If you’re exporting as part of conservation work, you can apply for an exemption from paying CITES application fees.

Circuses

Within the EU, you must register the circus and its animals if you take them outside the UK. The rules also apply to any birds, bees, salmon or trout kept for exhibition or entertainment.

Outside the EU, you do not need to register your circus or its animals. You also do not need to register circuses within the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

You need a licence for wild animals, even if your circus stays within the UK.

Get a licence for a travelling circus with wild animals.

Find out how to register a travelling circus or animal act to travel in the EU.

Regular exports for public exhibition

If you regularly take endangered circus animals abroad, you could complete travelling exhibition certificate (form FED0173) (PDF, 64.4KB, 2 pages) instead of a CITES permit or Article 10 certificate.

You can use the certificate within or outside the EU. It’s valid for 3 years and means you do not need to apply for permission each time.

Email or post the completed form to the APHA Centre for International Trade Bristol.

You’ll get your certificate within 15 working days and there’s no fee.

Published 9 November 2016

Last updated 10 July 2019 + show all updates
  1. Forms EC3163 and EC3164 updated
  2. Added information for exporters about how to get an export health certificate if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
  3. EHC list updated
  4. Export Health Certificate list updated
  5. EHC List updated
  6. Forms updated due to Data Protections statement change
  7. Updated EC3163 form
  8. Updated EC3163 form
  9. First published.
Contents

Part of Get your business ready to export from the UK to the EU after Brexit

  1. Step 1 Get a UK EORI number for your business

    Your business will already have a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number if you’ve traded with countries outside the EU. UK EORI numbers start with GB.

    1. Get a UK EORI number

  2. Step 2 Decide who will make the customs declarations

    Contact the organisation that transports your goods out of the country to find out if they can make customs declarations for your goods.

    If they cannot, you can either hire an agent to make the declarations, or make the declarations yourself.

    1. Find out how to make customs declarations yourself
    2. Register to use the National Export System if you decide to make them yourself

  3. Step 3 Apply to make exporting easier

    1. Decide which customs procedures to apply for to make exporting easier

  4. Step 4 Check what your customers will need to pay

    1. Check what your customers will need to pay in the countries you’re exporting to

  5. Step 5 Check what you need to do for the type of goods you export

    Depending on what you're exporting, there might be other things you'll need to do to get your business ready. For example, you might need to change the labelling on the packaging for your goods, or apply for licences.

    1. Check if you'll need to apply for an export licence
    2. Check what else you need to do for the type of goods you export

Update history

2026-03-18 16:39
Added a link to guidance about rules for exporting captive birds fixed with ‘826’ transponders.

2024-11-13 09:27
Under ‘Endangered animals’, content about taking animals abroad as part of travelling exhibitions – and the related application process – has been removed as this has been replaced by the ‘Apply for a CITES permit service’.

2022-07-21 12:58
EU or Northern Ireland-based import agent must notify a BCP or Northern Ireland point of entry that a consignment is arriving at least 24 hours in advance.

2022-06-13 12:20
Removed guidance on import controls that are no longer being introduced in July 2022

2019-10-21 10:33
Updated information on Brexit deal.

2019-08-30 10:26
Replaced information about endangered animals with links to pages with more comprehensive information on CITES and what to do if there's a no-deal Brexit.

2019-07-10 10:35
Forms EC3163 and EC3164 updated