5 Star Serpents
Ryan and Terri
I found a few threads that have information on the LEGAL way to import snakes into Canada, they require some reading to get to the links to Canadian and United States laws and regulations.
Please make note that importing for the purpose of a pet and for the purpose of breeding or resale are VERY different. If you are claiming them as "pets" then they WILL get sticky if you bring in more than 1 or 2 snakes. They will also question it if you bring up snakes of the same species but opposite gender.
Animals need to come into the country via a designated crossing, not just at any random border crossing, this is to ensure that they can be inspected before entering the country. An appointment needs to be made with F&W 48 hrs ahead of the time you plan to cross the border with the animals.
There ARE permits that need to be filled out and paid for in order to legally import a number of snakes OR snakes for breeding or resale purposes. There are a number of folks in the industry in Canada who do regular LEGAL imports and if you can find one of these people and develop a good relationship then they are usually more than happy to help you out. This means they have a broker on the US side who has all of the necessary paperwork and permits and it means that the person on the Canadian side has all of their proper paperwork in place also. Most of these guys will charge a nominal fee, but one that is SIGNIFICANTLY less than the other legal option of having Reptile Express bring the animals in for you.
Reptile Express has a wonderful reputation, yes it costs money BUT at the end of the day you can rest assured that you have done things the legal way. But as mentioned elsewhere there will always be folks who think it's ok to bend the rules or flat out ignore them, sadly this creates an even worse image for reptile keepers everywhere when headlines go up on your favorite news site about some careless person smuggling reptiles into Canada...because more negative media attention is definitely what we need right now:awcrap:
As for the links here are a few for now that have links to US laws/requirements and a Canadian one...that shows just how much damage can be done when your actions are questioned, it's a long read but I know that once you hash through it it does have some useful information. I will also look into finding the Canadian laws, not just from the CFIA but F&W because their requirements are different.
On the second page of this thread you will find a few useful links
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33674
And here is the one that is a long read but does have useful information in it http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78852&page=22
Please, please, please, do your research, do things LEGALLY. There ARE definitely people willing to help fellow Canadians get animals up here the right way!
Please make note that importing for the purpose of a pet and for the purpose of breeding or resale are VERY different. If you are claiming them as "pets" then they WILL get sticky if you bring in more than 1 or 2 snakes. They will also question it if you bring up snakes of the same species but opposite gender.
Animals need to come into the country via a designated crossing, not just at any random border crossing, this is to ensure that they can be inspected before entering the country. An appointment needs to be made with F&W 48 hrs ahead of the time you plan to cross the border with the animals.
There ARE permits that need to be filled out and paid for in order to legally import a number of snakes OR snakes for breeding or resale purposes. There are a number of folks in the industry in Canada who do regular LEGAL imports and if you can find one of these people and develop a good relationship then they are usually more than happy to help you out. This means they have a broker on the US side who has all of the necessary paperwork and permits and it means that the person on the Canadian side has all of their proper paperwork in place also. Most of these guys will charge a nominal fee, but one that is SIGNIFICANTLY less than the other legal option of having Reptile Express bring the animals in for you.
Reptile Express has a wonderful reputation, yes it costs money BUT at the end of the day you can rest assured that you have done things the legal way. But as mentioned elsewhere there will always be folks who think it's ok to bend the rules or flat out ignore them, sadly this creates an even worse image for reptile keepers everywhere when headlines go up on your favorite news site about some careless person smuggling reptiles into Canada...because more negative media attention is definitely what we need right now:awcrap:
As for the links here are a few for now that have links to US laws/requirements and a Canadian one...that shows just how much damage can be done when your actions are questioned, it's a long read but I know that once you hash through it it does have some useful information. I will also look into finding the Canadian laws, not just from the CFIA but F&W because their requirements are different.
On the second page of this thread you will find a few useful links
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33674
And here is the one that is a long read but does have useful information in it http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78852&page=22
Please, please, please, do your research, do things LEGALLY. There ARE definitely people willing to help fellow Canadians get animals up here the right way!
