Movement of animals across the customs border of Ukraine

Traveling with animals requires compliance with the norms of international legislation that apply to travel of this kind. If you are interested in consultation or legal support on these issues, we offer the services of the law firm "Prikhodko & Partners". Migration law is one of the basic areas of our specialization, so you can get help that will significantly simplify the necessary processes in the legal plane.

What legal acts regulate this issue?

Among the legal acts that regulate the movement of animals abroad, the following should be noted:

• Customs Code of Ukraine. The relevant information is in the sections that regulate the movement of goods, as well as objects of control.
• Law "On Veterinary Medicine". This law establishes requirements for animal health and veterinary documents.
• Law "On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty". This normative legal act establishes general rules for handling animals, which are relevant, including during their transportation.
• Provision of the CITES Convention. The legal norms enshrined in this document are relevant for species that are protected.
• Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers and orders of the State Service for Consumer Protection. They concern the rules for import and export of specific species of animals.

As you can see, the issue of moving animals across the customs border is regulated by a number of legal acts. It is often difficult to deal with them on your own, as it takes a lot of time. Therefore, it would be much better to order a consultation with a lawyer on migration law in order to be able to quickly get the necessary answers to your questions and instructions regarding the necessary actions in the legal plane, so that no problems or complications occur during the movement of animals abroad.

General features of transporting animals abroad

Among the key aspects of transporting animals abroad that you need to know, we note the following:

• The need for documents stipulated by international legal norms. This can be either an international veterinary certificate or an animal passport. As for the passport, this document is required for domestic animals.
• Microchip in accordance with international standards. This requirement is in effect permanently. It was relaxed only in the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion during the mass evacuation.
• Valid rabies vaccination. It is important not only to have documents confirming compliance with this requirement, but also to comply with the vaccination deadlines stipulated by law. It must be done at least 21 days before departure.

Also, according to the legal norms relevant for the movement of animals abroad, their origin must be from countries where there are no particularly dangerous diseases. It should be known that in case of suspicion of infection, the import of the animal may be refused or quarantine may be required.

To sum up the issue of transporting animals abroad, the key requirements are obvious - they must be safe. This is precisely what the requirement for documents confirming the animal's proper health and all necessary vaccinations is aimed at.

How can we be of service to you?

Among the services in the field of migration law, which are provided by lawyers of the law firm "Prikhodko & Partners", in particular - and in the matter of transporting animals abroad, are:

• Consulting. A quality consultation will allow you to find out everything you need without wasting time on independently studying legal norms. You will save time and effort, and a specialist will help you understand all the necessary information.
• Legal support. Our team offers turnkey support, which allows you to properly prepare for transporting an animal abroad. Thus, you will be sure that you have provided for everything necessary, so there will be no documentary problems during the trip.
• Appealing a refusal to cross the border. Sometimes clients contact lawyers not at the stages mentioned in the previous points, but in the case when they have already been refused to cross the border with an animal. Then we carefully examine the situation and analyze whether there were grounds for the refusal. If so, we offer support and help eliminate such grounds. If you were refused to cross the border without reason, we will help you appeal this decision.

It is important to remember: crossing the border is a responsible procedure, so when you do this with an animal, it must have all the necessary documents. We will help in their preparation so that the whole process goes smoothly for you.

To order our lawyers' services, you can fill out the feedback form on the website. After that, a lawyer will call you to provide an initial consultation.