The case of a pet cat which was smuggled into Iceland by a Swiss traveller, only to be put down by the Police on orders from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, has generated considerable attention and discussion in Iceland.
Read more: Police puts down cat which was smuggled to Iceland on-board RV by foreign travellers
Some have pointed out that there seem to be inconsistencies in the application of the Draconian law which states that all pets which enter Iceland illegally must be put down.
Swiss and French cats travelling on RVs put down by police
On Tuesday April 18 a Swiss woman, visiting Iceland on her RV with the ferry Norröna, disembarked in the town of Seyðisfjörður in East Iceland. Later that same week a veterinarian in the town of Höfn in South East Iceland discovered that the woman was hiding a cat in her RV. The veterinarian contacted the authorities.
On Friday Police in South Iceland located the woman at a mountain pass just east of Höfn. The cat was confiscated and later put down. The woman was arrested. She is facing a fine for smuggling the cat, as well as a bill for the destruction of her pet's carcass and a sterilization of the RV which was carried out on order of the Food and Veterinary Authority.
Read more: Cat smuggled to Iceland in RV by Swiss traveller not the first travelling pet put down by police
In 2003 Police in North Iceland arrested a French couple which had similarly smuggled a cat on-board their RV. The French travellers had also arrived in Iceland with the ferry Norröna. The cat was put down.
A Danish cat, travelling on private jet, spared
In other cases the law not been enforced with the same zero tolerance. The local news site Vísir points out that in a 2011 case a Danish cat named Nuk, which had arrived illegally on-board a private jet, had been spared the fate of her fellow felines.
In September 2011 a Danish woman, Susanne Alsing, who was flying to the US on her private jet, landed at Reykjavík airport. The passengers and crew left the plane in the evening, leaving the cat on board. When they arrived the next morning they discovered the cat had escaped from the plane. Susanne told Vísir at the time that it seemed the cat had been able to activate a crank which unlocked a door on the plane, creating a crack which she then pushed through. Apparently she has been able to activate the stairs, and the stairs opened the door, and she run away.
Customs officials had been under the impression the cat was staying in a locked cage inside the plane while in Iceland. Instead the cat had been allowed to roam free in the plane, allowing it to escape.
A reward and massive search
A massive search for the cat was immediately launched, with members from local search and rescue units participating. The owner paid the cost of the search and offered a 100,000 ISK (850 USD/630 EUR) reward to anyone who found the cat. The search continued for a day and a half, when the cat was finally found hiding in a hangar next to the plane.
Instead of destroying the cat the authorities took it for testing, and then allowed its owner to take the cat with him to the US.
At the time the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority explained that the owner had been able to produce detailed records for the cat which had not gotten in touch with local cats, that the goal of its owner had not been to smuggle the animal into Iceland in violation of Icelandic law, and that it was possible to send the animal out of the country immediately. Vísir points out that the case of the Swiss traveller whose cat was put down on Friday is different: Passengers on Norröna are warned that they cannot bring pets into Iceland, a warning which is repeated on-board the ferry.
Detailed health records and 4 week quarantine
People who want to bring pets to Iceland must fill out paperwork detailing where the animal has been in the two months preceding its arrival in Iceland as well as providing proof the animal has been vaccinated and undergone tests. Only after the paperwork has been reviewed and approved can the animal enter the country. After arrival all pets must remain in quarantine for four weeks. The only port of entry for live animals is Keflavík.
The case of a pet cat which was smuggled into Iceland by a Swiss traveller, only to be put down by the Police on orders from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, has generated considerable attention and discussion in Iceland.
Read more: Police puts down cat which was smuggled to Iceland on-board RV by foreign travellers
Some have pointed out that there seem to be inconsistencies in the application of the Draconian law which states that all pets which enter Iceland illegally must be put down.
Swiss and French cats travelling on RVs put down by police
On Tuesday April 18 a Swiss woman, visiting Iceland on her RV with the ferry Norröna, disembarked in the town of Seyðisfjörður in East Iceland. Later that same week a veterinarian in the town of Höfn in South East Iceland discovered that the woman was hiding a cat in her RV. The veterinarian contacted the authorities.
On Friday Police in South Iceland located the woman at a mountain pass just east of Höfn. The cat was confiscated and later put down. The woman was arrested. She is facing a fine for smuggling the cat, as well as a bill for the destruction of her pet's carcass and a sterilization of the RV which was carried out on order of the Food and Veterinary Authority.
Read more: Cat smuggled to Iceland in RV by Swiss traveller not the first travelling pet put down by police
In 2003 Police in North Iceland arrested a French couple which had similarly smuggled a cat on-board their RV. The French travellers had also arrived in Iceland with the ferry Norröna. The cat was put down.
A Danish cat, travelling on private jet, spared
In other cases the law not been enforced with the same zero tolerance. The local news site Vísir points out that in a 2011 case a Danish cat named Nuk, which had arrived illegally on-board a private jet, had been spared the fate of her fellow felines.
In September 2011 a Danish woman, Susanne Alsing, who was flying to the US on her private jet, landed at Reykjavík airport. The passengers and crew left the plane in the evening, leaving the cat on board. When they arrived the next morning they discovered the cat had escaped from the plane. Susanne told Vísir at the time that it seemed the cat had been able to activate a crank which unlocked a door on the plane, creating a crack which she then pushed through. Apparently she has been able to activate the stairs, and the stairs opened the door, and she run away.
Customs officials had been under the impression the cat was staying in a locked cage inside the plane while in Iceland. Instead the cat had been allowed to roam free in the plane, allowing it to escape.
A reward and massive search
A massive search for the cat was immediately launched, with members from local search and rescue units participating. The owner paid the cost of the search and offered a 100,000 ISK (850 USD/630 EUR) reward to anyone who found the cat. The search continued for a day and a half, when the cat was finally found hiding in a hangar next to the plane.
Instead of destroying the cat the authorities took it for testing, and then allowed its owner to take the cat with him to the US.
At the time the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority explained that the owner had been able to produce detailed records for the cat which had not gotten in touch with local cats, that the goal of its owner had not been to smuggle the animal into Iceland in violation of Icelandic law, and that it was possible to send the animal out of the country immediately. Vísir points out that the case of the Swiss traveller whose cat was put down on Friday is different: Passengers on Norröna are warned that they cannot bring pets into Iceland, a warning which is repeated on-board the ferry.
Detailed health records and 4 week quarantine
People who want to bring pets to Iceland must fill out paperwork detailing where the animal has been in the two months preceding its arrival in Iceland as well as providing proof the animal has been vaccinated and undergone tests. Only after the paperwork has been reviewed and approved can the animal enter the country. After arrival all pets must remain in quarantine for four weeks. The only port of entry for live animals is Keflavík.
