Spiders on a Plane?

[Rachel Briggs]

Sorry, I couldn't resist the topic title... anyway, I've got a question about transporting spiders and I figured this would be the best place to ask. I currently live in Austin, Texas, but am planning to move to England in the indeterminable future. I know the procedure my cat would have to go through to come with me (six months of microchipping, shots, etc) but I have no idea what bringing my leggier pets along entails.

My current arachnomenagerie includes the following species:
3 Grammostola aureostriata
2 Aphonopelma seemanii
1 Aphonopelma sp. (Carlsbad Green)
1 Rabidosa rabida
1 Cyclosternum fascinatum
1 Brachypelma albopilosum
1 Aphonopelma clarki
2 Paraphysa parvula

As far as I know none of them are on any ban lists, although I did read something about Brachypelma species needing special papers to travel internationally? Also, I don't know whether it'd be preferable to bring them on the plane to ride with the cat in cargo, or to mail them. Neither sound very fun for them but at least I'd know where they were if they came with me. Also, I don't know if the sizes matter, but most of them are still very small. The largest I have are the seemaniis and parvulas, the latter of which are an adult pair ready to breed (so, by the time I go, I may have a lot more spiderlings to put on the list.)

So, in summary, does anybody know what I need to do to bring a dozen spiders from Texas to England? I'm most concerned about documents I may need, and containers for their transport.

[Andrew Ferguson]

I'm not sure, but check out http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...yType=document

It may have the info you need.

[Rachel Briggs]

Hm, that mostly seems to be about mammals and rabies issues, and I don't think my Rabidosa quite counts for that despite her best efforts! Spiders are briefly mentioned on the second-to-last page but I'm not entirely sure what the chart is for, I looked up '"ex 0106" spiders' in Google and it only found that same document. Overall, I think it should be useful information for my cat, but I'm still pretty much clueless as to the arachnids' travel plans.

[Eduard Johan Hijmensen]

looking at the spiders on your list you have i doubt it is worth the hassle and/ or the money to bring them to the UK. for the Brachypelma you will need a CITES export licence (in Holland such a paper costs about 50 euro, no idea of the costs in the US.)

it might sound harsh, but i think you will be better off buying those spiders again in the UK.

hope this helps

Eddy

[James Box]

we have someone here who recently moved from the States, bringing his collection with him...i'm sure he'll chime in soon. all i know is that it's expensive.

[Rachel Briggs]

As far as I can figure out, the Brachypelma seems to be the only one that requires documents.. CITES's website is pretty hard to navigate though, and the US Fish and Wildlife Services site doesn't seem too terribly helpful either. (I now know more about shipping orca whales than I do pet spiders!) I also can't find prospective permit costs on either site, although 50 euro translates to about $70 and that's not very expensive.

Either way, they are all my pets and I love them, they really can't be replaced. If Mittens (Brachy) is the only issue, I suppose I could figure out the costs to transport her, and if I can afford it I could consider it a "spider tax" on the whole group. If it would end up being too expensive to consider procuring papers for her, I suppose I could give her to my sister, and bring the rest with me. I've got no idea when I'm eventually going though, so I'd just like to use this time to plan ahead.

[KJ Vezino]

Talk to Toran, he recently moved form the US to England and took most of his Ts with him. He'll tell you what you need to do.

[Claudia Baines]

I think the only one that would need permits is the Brachypelma as it is CITES protected, so it cant be imported, and would require an import licence.

[KJ Vezino]

I believe Brachy's can be imported as long as you can prove they were captive bred. Usually for the immature ones, this is a given.

But don't take my word for it.

[Rachel Briggs]

I'll have to ask about who owns her parents next time I pick up crickets. I know she was captive-bred, she's still living-in-a-hot-sauce-cup-sized and a lot of her siblings were around when I bought her. I was really excited because I'd been waiting for the store to get more curly hairs for weeks, I really hope I can figure this out so I don't have to end up leaving her behind.

[Toran Tanner]

no brachy's can be shipped without loads of money.... I have PM'ed you with info just get back to me

[Eduard Johan Hijmensen]

would be nice to have the info here on the forum, for all to read.

[Toran Tanner]

OK

contact US fish and wildlife. and British airlline's as they are the only airline that will allow spiders onboard.

[Phil Rea]

British Airways?

[Toran Tanner]

British Airways?

yes that what I meant sorry.