Shipping to & from the USA

[Socram]

Does anyone have any experience shipping livestock to the USA? What are the rules/controls etc?

I'm looking to get a kind of snail that nobody in Canada can deliver to my doorstep.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!


Socram

[Ocean Images]

Beware of custom broker charges:eek2: A simple $10 shipment will cost you $30 or $40 by the time the smoke clears.
UPS is famous for Custom fees, what I do is get parcels shipped to a friend's address in Buffalo and then simply pick them up from there.
Good luck :cheers:

[Toirtis]

Quadruple check with AgCan about bringing them in....many species of snails are restricted for import. I have imported a lot of animals (mainly reptiles), and can tell you that it will be pricey...all the additional costs (shipping, exchange, etc.) add up quickly to bring your 'per snail' cost up dramatically....so, if you can, order lots, and sell off the extras to off-set your expense.

[Dman]

Just about every species of coral, fish, snail, invert (SW) is on the CITES list. There is a good place to start. I have the CITES appendices in PDF format somewhere, email me if you have a hard time tracking them down. So depending on which Appendice it is on will determine how hard it will be getting it into the country. BTW, ship it to a FEDEX location on the other side of the border and bring it back across personally. If you try to have it shipped directly, and customs sees it and they're not entirely sure of what it is, they will hold it until someone from AGCAN can look at it and that can take up to 8 days.
Dman
:spin:

[Jayson]

What type of snail are you looking for? You will have to get a F@W permit to bring any snails in. They will run you anywhere from $55-75.oo usd.

[ajx22]

Originally posted by Socram
Does anyone have any experience shipping livestock to the USA? What are the rules/controls etc?

I'm looking to get a kind of snail that nobody in Canada can deliver to my doorstep.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!


Socram

What type of snail are you looking for?

[Socram]

I'm looking for Nassarious Snails... Jayson carries them, but his deliveries are to airports... I have no car and airports are not close by, I'm looking everywhere for them.

This makes me wonder about the convenience buying mail order stuff... but then I found out that FedEx doesn't ship livestock. I also couldn't find anything on UPS or Purlator websites, so how do you ship livestock in Canada? Why is it so hard to find certain species here that seem so readily available in the US?

This hoby is difficult without a car :(

[ajx22]

Originally posted by Socram
I'm looking for Nassarious Snails... Jayson carries them, but his deliveries are to airports... I have no car and airports are not close by, I'm looking everywhere for them.

This makes me wonder about the convenience buying mail order stuff... but then I found out that FedEx doesn't ship livestock. I also couldn't find anything on UPS or Purlator websites, so how do you ship livestock in Canada? Why is it so hard to find certain species here that seem so readily available in the US?

This hoby is difficult without a car :(

We have them in and available as well - $2.50 each

We have the ability to have them delivered to your door - as long as you (or someone who can receive and acclimate them) are going to be home to receive them at the stated time.

How many do you require? Waterloo ain't that far away! :o)

Contact me via e-mail or PM should you wish to know anything further.

Best regards always,

[mark0933]

I have posted a similar message on another newsgroup, maybe someone here knows the answer. Is it possible (legally) to bring SPS (Acropora) frags over the border from Michigan. I am going to the states on vacation later this year, and want to pick up some frags (price seems too good to be true if customs is not a problem). Customs told me it depends on how many I bring back (has to be reasonably for personal use, and who determines this:confused: )

Anyone done this, please share experiences.

Mark

PS - Customs said Acropora wasn't on CITES therefore it's OK, can anyone substantiate this? If so, and I can bring things across the border, I'll look like this guy -> :blob:

[ajx22]

Originally posted by mark0933
I have posted a similar message on another newsgroup, maybe someone here knows the answer. Is it possible (legally) to bring SPS (Acropora) frags over the border from Michigan. I am going to the states on vacation later this year, and want to pick up some frags (price seems too good to be true if customs is not a problem). Customs told me it depends on how many I bring back (has to be reasonably for personal use, and who determines this:confused: )

Anyone done this, please share experiences.

Mark

PS - Customs said Acropora wasn't on CITES therefore it's OK, can anyone substantiate this? If so, and I can bring things across the border, I'll look like this guy -> :blob:

Mark,

Unfortunately whomever you spoke to was wrong. You can NOT bring SPS across without CITES. They are indeed protected.

To bring any coral/liverock across the boarder you will need to have a CITES permit (that the seller must fill out providing information on the item(s) that you're transporting). There is no designation between "for personal use" or "commercial". CITES was set-up to protect species - not regulate importing/exporting.

I have a friend that recently (within the past year) made a trip to Tropicorium in Michigan to return with some corals - the corals were all confiscated and he was lucky enough NOT to get a huge fine. Unfortunately - he had money tied-up in the corals - and he did loose this money.

Customs inspectors are now being educated regarding different corals - and actually know how to tell them apart.

I can give you the contact information for the proper CITES offices should you need them...but again the problem is that it takes many weeks to receive CITES permits...and they must be filled out with information that you as the buyer will not know. This is one of the reasons that it's hard to bring some corals into Canada. Not all suppliers in the states are willing to fill out the CITES paperwork. :(

Sorry to deliver bad news...

I hope that you can still enjoy your trip.

[Oakville Reef Gallery]

hey guys,absolutely can you not bring in any corals without cities,whether its a frag or football size colony,be careful as you were misinformed

[ajx22]

Should anyone want to contact CITES regarding import permits/etc. - here is the contact information you will need:



You will need to obtain the following form (5-pages):

Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Federal Fish and Wildlife License/Permit Application Form

For:
Export/Re-Export of Wildlife
(Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species)

*********************************
Contact Info:
Division of Management Authority
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 700
Arlington, VA 22203

Tel: Chief and Operations Branch:
+1 (703) 358-2093; 358-2095
Branch of Permits:

+1 (800) toll-free within the United States; otherwise +1 (703) 358-2104

Fax: Office of Chief, DMA: +1 (703) 358-2280

Branch of CITES Operations: +1 (703) 358-2298

Branch of Permits: +1 (703) 358-2281

Email: managementauthority@fws.gov (general/général)

Web: http://international.fws.gov
*********************************

http://www.cites.org/


HTH,

[Dman]

Guys,
I believe there is also a small charge involved as well. I believe 75USD. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong
Dman
:spin:

[ajx22]

Originally posted by Dman
Guys,
I believe there is also a small charge involved as well. I believe 75USD. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong
Dman
:spin:

You're Wrong...


But not about this. There is indeed an application fee that must accompany your application (that must be mailed in to the USFWS).

Unless you're going to bring in a fair number of corals...it can and does get expensive.

Also...you will have to pay your GST upon returning to Canada with your new items too. So convert what you're paying in US Dollars to Canadian Dollars / add the 7% GST then incorporate the CITES fees = more $$$ then you will likely want to spend.

*Do some people start to understand the pleasures that we deal with when importing animals - not to mention the associated costs that are incurred. This doesn't even take into consideration Airline Shipping charges (well more then the corals even cost to start with) and then to buffer for DOA/Losses too. A fish that might cost us $5.00 to order - can end up costing over $15-$20 by the time all is said and done!! :eek2:

Cheers,

[Dman]

Good, glad I was wrong at least about the amount.
Dman
:spin:

[ajx22]

Originally posted by Dman
Good, glad I was wrong at least about the amount.
Dman
:spin:

LOL...

:wink-grin