Formalities to bring your pet in Mauritius

I gave up trying. Was like p1ssing into the wind

Do your pets have to go in quarantine?

Sure they do will have to go there... and they will keep them long... its like going to prison :p

Anyway, maybe MSPCA and PAWS can give you some good leads on this issue.

How long is long for quarantine? What is the environment like? Is it worth putting them through that process? Not sure if mine will survive? They have never been away from us.

Hi Karen,

Depending on the country of origin, it will be between 1 to 3 months. Environment (buildings) are quite oldish I must say (unless they made some renovation jobs since 2008 when my doggie was there.

However you must know that:

1. you may visit them every day or almost
2. you can walk them in an enclosed area

Hope this helps
Arlette

Hello,

how it is with counry of origin ? I am from Czech Republic (EU)

How is it about visiting my country during the year ? Should the dog be in quarantine every time I return ? I have one year old bolognese and I will maybe come for work for a year - so I am looking for information if it should be better to leave him here or bring.

And what about the costs ?

Thank you

Hi Guys,
Sorry this is so long but this is our experience of recently bringing our dogs in Mauritius from the UK,
I think I have listed all the facts but if you think I have missed anything out please let me know or if there are any questions you may want to ask me please do so – I asked many questions during this experience and people were very patient with me 

My recent experience for bringing dogs from the UK to Mauritius;

From Start May 2011 to August 11

Emailed and rang Min of Agriculture for guidelines etc (Ministry of Agriculture, Veterinary Services, Reduit, Mauritius. Tel: (230) 466662 or email: [email protected]  ( Mr Gunness – direct line: 454 1016 or 1017)– they are extremely busy, and waiting times for this information is long, however go to their website  (http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/moa )and you can download the info you require from there, although sometimes this information will not download, so just keep trying. My husband was at a meeting in Mauritius and personally went along to collect the information – I have copies of all these forms, guidance notes etc if anyone would like them.

UK to Mauritius took about 12 weeks for all injections and rabies passports to be complete- our dogs already had their passports and their rabies booster was not due for another 18 months but they had to have the booster early – make sure your vet stamps the retest section in their passports.

Rabies vaccination must be given no less than 60 days and no more than 12 months. i.e. Barney's 1st ever Rabies vaccination was given 19th May.......Blood must be sent to AHVLA, Addlestone, Surrey.

Rabies blood tests must be taken no less than 30 days and not more than 6 months after vaccination. i.e. Barneys blood was taken 22nd June which was 32 days after having the vaccine.

Apart from rabies there are 3 other blood tests to take- SAT for Brucella canis Ab, IFAT for canine ehrlichiosis Ab , RSA for Brucella canis Ab– once taken you must then leave the UK within 45 days (obviously you have to wait for the  negative blood tests back) all blood tests must be sent to AHVLA in Addlestone Surrey – no other blood testing agency can be used. Our dogs blood tests were taken on the 18th July, received at AHVLA on the 19th July and we received the negative results back on the 23rd July and then travelled with the dogs on the 9pm flight from Heathrow on the 15th August, landing 16th August.

Your dogs yearly vaccinations must be up to date and check with the vet that they include the following; Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis and Parvovirus as not all do. They must have these.

Dogs must be microchipped as this 15 digit number is needed on all paperwork – it must be 15 digits.

We used a pet carrier in the UK as they kept a check on all paperwork and dates to make sure we were within all the Mauritian guidelines, they made the crates to fit each dog and collected them the day before to give them final health checks and flea and tick treatment, this all cost us for 3 dogs about £2,867 GBP. There are cheaper packages but we used the gold service. (Sadly we only brought 2 dogs as our dog Rosie died of heart failure due to undiagnosed cancer 2 days before leaving the UK) There are quite a few Companies in the UK who offer this service the main 2 being: AirPet or PetAir

They booked the flights, organised the permits etc using a Mau Broker – this guy Hurry was absolutely fantastic – he organised everything in Mauritius for the dogs and met us with them at the airport, dealt with Customs, the Vet, and took us to the quarantine all for about £400. GBP. I must stress that you have to have a broker in Mauritius.  If you want Hurry's email please contact me.


Quarantine visiting times are Monday–Saturday; 9-11am and 1-3pm             
                     Sunday and Public holidays – 9-11am

Exercise area: You are allowed 20 mins in the exercise area with your dog but if no one else wants To use it then you can stay in there as long as you want. There are 2 exercise areas. Remember to bring your poo bags to clear up after your dogs whilst in these areas.

Your dog is not exercised whilst in quarantine unless you visit –
They just stay in their kennels – so you really must try to visit them if not daily then at least 3 times per week- the staff are very friendly, the kennels are old but safe and clean.

Kennel costs: Rs 15 per day per animal
Food per day : Rs 25 but you can provide your own food, lots of people leave big bags of dried food there for the kennel men to feed your dog with, although we bring extra food when we visit i.e. some chicken and rice or minced beef and rice or a few sausages 

UK quarantine period is for 30 days.
I think its the same for anyone coming from the EU and 3 months from SA - Please check this as this is what I have been told.

I visit them everyday for a 2 hour session, I take my lunch and have been very lucky to be able to stay in the exercise area. I also leave a bag in their kennel hung up on the inner wall which contains, poo bags, baby wet wipes, balls, towel, leads.

Also make sure you leave them some toys to play with in their kennel and their bed or favourite blanket.


When you are in Mauritius, remember to keep up to date with rabies and all vaccinations ready to come back to the UK – where I believe if all passports are up to date then they do not have to go into quarantine at the UK.

I think this is fully comprehensive list of what we have recently been through but if I think of anything else I will add to it 

Thank you all for your contributions

Armand

Thank you very much for this..

As I see opening hours for visit, I think no chance for me to visit dog during working days
So if I leave, he will probably stay with my mum and wait for me..

Hi All,

I think Dee (RosieWestie) is one of the first persons to have been able to bring along her pets. Her experience and post is so long but i think so true

Cheers
Steven

@ Steven = I did warn you my post was going to be long!

But it does list absolutely everything for bringing a dog from the UK to Mauritius and also gives examples of dates etc

Took me a couple of hours going through all my paperwork to get everything just right.

There have been a lot of people who have managed to get their dogs into Mauritius - the kennels at the moment are quite full with about 5 South African, 1 English, 1 USA, and 4 French - so it can be done!
Kind regards
Dee

Hi Dee,

Yes now it can be done. previously it was a nightmare and almost impossible

cheers
Steven

Hi Guys,

Just an update - not a long one

EXERCISE:

I am not sure if people realise but when your dog is in quarantine it is not exercised - it remains in the kennel, until you come to exercise it - as the kennel men are so busy.


To enable someone else i.e. a friend to exercise your dog for you, you have to go to the Vets office at the kennels and complete some forms giving permission.

You then get a letter/email/phone call to tell you whether or not this has been accepted.

Hope this has helped
It has been a real learning curve for me!
Regards
Dee

END OF QUARANTINE PERIOD:

After about 25 days (for a 30 day quarantine period) you can speak to the vet and the kennel manager to ask when your dog can come home.

If all is well and they are both in agreement then it looks like your dog may be allowed home a few days early.

If the vet says yes, then you are given your dogs passport and you must take this to the MSPCA at Rose HIll, so that you can register your dog, you then get a registration certificate. I think this costs about 250r per dog. You must take your passport or residents permit with you. Also take with you a copy of your dogs microchip details. This office closes for lunch between 12-1pm.

When you have the registration Cert, you take it the next kennel visiting times and show the kennel manager, he then gives you an invoice of the amount that you owe.

After you have paid then you will be given a day and time to collect your dog.

As I have said previously, it has been a real learning curve for me and I hope all my  notes have been of some help for you
Good luck and Kind regards
Dee

Thx for everyones great advice and guidelines. Will the same rules count for my cat? Is cats allowed to go over?

Hi Karen
I am at the kennels tomorrow, so will ask them while I am there, although I would ring Mr. Gunness (Pronounced Ganesh) to get official points on this.

I know there are cats there - I saw a lady take her's out from the quarantine today - she was so happy
Regards
Dee

Thanks Dee you are a star!

Hi Karen,

I asked about cats and they told me:

Similar quarantine times for cats is as the same as dogs. They seem to have quite a few cats in quarantine at the moment, so they are used to cats.

You are best to ring Mr Gunness (pronounced Ganesh) he is a lovely friendly man and is very helpful.
His contact details are:  direct line: 454 1016 or 1017

He will have the correct information for you, I am sure the kennel men were right about quarantine times but you should check for yourself I think so no mistakes

Our dogs are coming home tomorrow (Friday) so if there any more questions you would like me to ask the kennel men on my last day please do by tonight latest.

Kind regards
Dee

Hi Dee,


I will phone Mr Gunnes. Thanks so much. Enjoy every moment of your dogs and spoil them with their favaroute things.

Thanks again for your kind advice

Karen

@ Karen ; No problem - your very welcome
Good luck

Good day I have been trying for weeks to get information on taking my African Grey Parrot (from South Africa) into Mauritius.  Can anyone please assist with guidance and most importantly the quarantine duration.

Regards
Saartjie

Swait wrote:

Good day I have been trying for weeks to get information on taking my African Grey Parrot (from South Africa) into Mauritius.  Can anyone please assist with guidance and most importantly the quarantine duration.

Regards
Saartjie

Hi,

No idea about Parrots but ring:

Mr Gunness.
He or one of his assistants will be able to help you.
It is the Ministry of Agriculture - import of pets division

Note: Tuesday 1st November and Wednesday 2nd November are public holidays in Mauritius - so the offices will be closed on these days.
Kind regards

hi Rosie
am origin from mauritius but living in ireland . i want 2 bring my dog aswell but the website u gave is not working.. i'll need all the names of injection  n all the formalities to bring him.. it will be very helpfull if u can help me.. thnnxxxxx a million

Scrappy wrote:

hi Rosie
am origin from mauritius but living in ireland . i want 2 bring my dog aswell but the website u gave is not working.. i'll need all the names of injection  n all the formalities to bring him.. it will be very helpfull if u can help me.. thnnxxxxx a million

Hi Scrappy
just answered your pm and then saw this posting.

If you read my posting near the top of the page, it is a long one it tells you all the injections that your dog needs.

You need to go to see the vet and it is advisable to use a pet travel Company - they know all the rules and regulations and how to go about everything the correct way.

If you do it yourself and get any of the timings wrong with the injections, I am afraid that the Mauritius Vet at customs will not allow your dog into the Country and the possibility of him putting  your pet to sleep is very high (this is now stated on the customs entry forms)- that's why we used a Pet Shipping Company - they told us what dates to have each injection done.

I don't want to be rude but read through all the postings on this site regarding shipping your dog into Mauritius fully.

The Gov website does not always work - that's why I put the contact telephone number down and also offered to email all the forms and requirements to anyone who wanted them as they are sometimes impossible to download.

In your pm to me you say that no plane will carry your dog from Dublin, Ireland - I don't know about this - are there direct flights to Mauritius? Someone else will probably come on and tell you, as I am sure someone from Ireland must have flown their dog over.

Regards

Scrappy - can I make a suggestion?

Why don't you start a new thread maybe entitled
"Has anyone brought their dog from Ireland to Mauritius"

This way I think any answers that you will get will be from people who have the type of experience that you are looking for - It may be different rules etc bringing a dog from Southern Ireland than it is for the UK to Mauritius.

I have sent you and a few others via email today the forms and guidelines from the Government Dept here in Mauritius that deal with import of Dogs and Cats.

Merry Christmas

Hi Guys,
An Update to a Quarantine issue:

If you get one of the big kennels, that have a long run, then a small room and then an inner dark room make sure you put your dogs bed in the dark back room as they are locked into this room at 5pm until the next morning.

When we arrived at quarantine the men had put my dogs travel crates (being used as beds) into the dark back room, I moved them into the middle room as it was lighter, I did not realise they would be locked into the back room overnight - therefore my dogs slept on the concrete floor

Hello all cat lovers!
I'm trying to download and find info on exactly what injections etc. my cat will need before coming out with us to Mauritius. We're currently in France and I only get error messages on the MOA website, they haven't replied to my emails either. I just don't want it to be too late, or our cat won't be able to travel with us. We should be moving in August.
Thanks for your help.

mishkj wrote:

Hello all cat lovers!
I'm trying to download and find info on exactly what injections etc. my cat will need before coming out with us to Mauritius. We're currently in France and I only get error messages on the MOA website, they haven't replied to my emails either. I just don't want it to be too late, or our cat won't be able to travel with us. We should be moving in August.
Thanks for your help.

Hi
Have you read all the postings on this posting?
I know most of it relates to dogs but there are some phone numbers
of the people that you need to speak too regarding importing
your cat/pet.

Ask the lady to email you direct the forms and guidance notes that you will need for a cat.

If you have not received them in 5 days, then ring and ask again etc


You could also try to start a new post i.e. "Has anyone brought their cat with them to Mauritius"
Even if its not from France, the guidance notes will be similar and other peoples experiences will help you.

Good luck

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I did exactly as you suggested and now I have all the information I need.
So if anyone else needs help on this matter, well I now have the answers!!

mishkj wrote:

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I did exactly as you suggested and now I have all the information I need.
So if anyone else needs help on this matter, well I now have the answers!!

Your welcome

If you need any more  help or advice - please ask

People might not know that there is a problem of wild dogs in Mauritius, packs of them.  Unless you plan on keeping your cat indoors, I would suggest you reconsider bringing cats, it's a lot of expense only to find it mauled by a pack of feral dogs on its' first night out of quarantine.  Yes it's a morbid post but relevant I think and certainly something to consider.

Gallois wrote:

People might not know that there is a problem of wild dogs in Mauritius, packs of them.  Unless you plan on keeping your cat indoors, I would suggest you reconsider bringing cats, it's a lot of expense only to find it mauled by a pack of feral dogs on its' first night out of quarantine.  Yes it's a morbid post but relevant I think and certainly something to consider.

Where are these "Packs of Wild Dogs" ???

Packs???? Wild?????

I know plenty of people who have cats and kittens with cat flaps, open windows, so that the cats can come and go as and when they want too.

I have come across "a pack of 5 dogs" once, I continued to walk on past them with no problems and on my way back I fed them all.

Lots of dogs will chase cats, I have one who becomes a snarling monster when he see's a cat but the cat jumps over the fence and is gone - yes I am sure sometimes the dog or dogs catch a cat - but this happens all over the World not just in Mauritius!

Got more chance of a cat or dog being kicked by a person who does not like cats/dogs than it has being savaged by a group of Wild Dogs!!

Don't confuse my use of the word 'wild' with rabid or vicious.  Wild because they belong to no one.  If they belong to no one and are 'wild' then they feed themselves and cats are on the menu along with many other animals as well as what humans throw away.  But in my experience, people don't often keep hedgehogs as pets and wouldn't probably go to the expense of bringing such a creature here!

Scrappy wrote:

hi Rosie
am origin from mauritius but living in ireland . i want 2 bring my dog aswell but the website u gave is not working.. i'll need all the names of injection  n all the formalities to bring him.. it will be very helpfull if u can help me.. thnnxxxxx a million

Hi Scrappy,
Any update about bringing your dog to Mauritius, am planning to bring my dog from Ireland to mru as well, & I followed the instructions of Rosiewestie about new thread, but it brought to this site which is the closest.

Regards

Hi - I am wanting very babdly to bring my cat from Maldives to Mauritius. As Vets in Maldives don't exist, I have recently had a visiting vet spey / microchip and issue her passport along with a couple of vaccinations. My question is - has anyone had any experience getting pets out of Maldives to Mauritius? I know it going to be a very arduous process and not sure I want to put her through that. If anyone has dealt with exporting pets out of Maldives before, I would be appreciative of your help.

Jenks wrote:

Hi - I am wanting very babdly to bring my cat from Maldives to Mauritius. As Vets in Maldives don't exist, I have recently had a visiting vet spey / microchip and issue her passport along with a couple of vaccinations. My question is - has anyone had any experience getting pets out of Maldives to Mauritius? I know it going to be a very arduous process and not sure I want to put her through that. If anyone has dealt with exporting pets out of Maldives before, I would be appreciative of your help.

Hi,

I would post your question above as a separate post, so people can see it much better rather than tagged onto the end of a older post

Hopefully someone should come along to help you or you can ring the Number of Mr Gunness at the Quarantine and ask him questions directly.

Good luck.

Hi,

Just to add my recent experience of bringing my dog over from the UK, in case others are planning similar moves, as I found the information on this thread invaluable prior to shipping Archie (thanks Rosiewestie!)
I found the process much the same as Rosiewestie did - Archie had to have his passport set up so he had to have his Rabies blood test done, which added a little time as you have to wait at least 30 days from the vaccine date.
Also, the export health certificate requires ALL vaccines to have been given 'at least 14days and not more than 12 months prior to the date of export'. In the UK dogs often get a part booster every other year of some of the vaccines, e.g. just Parainfluenza and Lepto (as these aren't licensed for as long as the other components of the vaccine), so make sure your vet is aware so that the right booster can be given, so that the export form can be certified.
Archie was shipped using a shipping company - these guys were absolutely fabulous and the driver who met us at Gatwick was a real credit to the company. (I can supply details if anyone is interested.) I was told that the only direct route available for cargo into Mauritius from England was from Gatwick on a BA flight but I'm not 100% on this - there may be others. Incidentally the driver informed me that the pet cargo area at Gatwick has a sort of kennel/play area so that your dog can  stretch its legs before being loaded, which I thought was nice seeing as the shipping company recommends animals to check-in 4-5 hours before departure, so Archie had a good few hours of fuss and attention before he was kennelled up.
On landing, I was met by the same broker (Hurry) that Rosiewestie used - he's great, everything was cleared with no issues and Archie was taken to Quarantine at Reduit where he settled in fine. The only thing Hurry mentioned was the blood test results for his Brucella/Erlichia/Rabies tests from VLA Weybridge which were faxed over to my vet - apparently the Mauritian vets prefer original documents. I appear to have gotten round this by asking my vet to request a colour document to be sent to my email address, which I then printed off and gave to the quarantine office.
I went every day to Reduit for both the morning and afternoon sessions (I don't think the afternoon session is quite 1-3pm any more, but everyone who works there is very helpful and will very politely let you know when you have to leave). Archie was in quarantine for 21days, a couple of days before this I was told that I could take his passport (and mine) to MSPCA at Rose-Hill to get his registration certificate and ID disc for his collar. The cost is now 275r - the lady at the desk originally only put the first 6 digits of his ID chip number on the certificate so I'd recommend double checking all the info/address/phone numbers etc are accurate before signing! After that, once the invoice has been paid and your dog has stayed for a minimum of 21days then he can come home - although the paperwork has to remain in the office for 30 days so I'll pick that up next week.

I really hope this helps anyone thinking of making the move over here with their dogs- as I said at the start I found Rosiewestie's original post incredibly informative and I'm just adding here my own experience to keep the thread current. There were plenty of other dogs and cats in quarantine from several other countries so it definitely can be done - my main advice would be to start in plenty of time so that all the hoops can be jumped though, and to read up as much as possible on the requirements to import your animal as unfortunately your vet is unlikely to have exported an animal to Mauritius before! The pet export team at Defra Carlisle are brilliant though and will send out specimen forms for you and your vet to look through and raise any queries before getting the ball rolling.

Good luck!

Taking your pet back to the UK.

The rules for bringing your pet from Mauritius back into the UK changed in January 2012  - they've basically removed the rabies blood test (because of the low risk of vaccine failure) and got rid of the compulsory tick treatment prior to entry into the UK. As long as the dog is up to date with rabies boosters OR had its first one more than 21 days prior to flying then travelling is fine.
And the time schedule for tapeworm treatment prior to arrival into the UK is now 1-5 days, administered by a vet still.

The UK official Government link is: http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/p … et-owners/

(Thanks Amy - for this update - and the website is very informative too

hello everybody, we live in the middle east, in bahrain, since many years, and we will be moving to mauritius summer 2013. i know this is not around the corner but i do have 2 pet rabbits, mr. flips and mr. flops and it is so hard to find any information about the requirements to import them into mauritius.... i appreciate if anyone can help! best regards from the sandpit, bridget