A traveler arriving from Hamburg, Germany, was turned away at Keflavík Airport last week, after customs agents discovered a cat in his carry-on luggage. Any animals who enter Iceland must be quarantined. Animals who arrive illegally and are not quarantined are put down without mercy to protect against animal-born diseases. In April 2016 a cat which was smuggled into Iceland on a RV by a Swiss traveler was put down by the authorities.
Read more: Police puts down cat which was smuggled to Iceland on-board RV by foreign travellers
According to the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority a passenger onboard a flight from Hamburg noticed that a boy in the next aisle was hiding a cat in his carry-on luggage. The passenger notified customs officials, who stopped the boy and his family to inspect the luggage. After the agents looked through the carry-on luggage of the cat-smugglers they informed the people that family pets had to jump through very tough hoops before being allowed to vacation in Iceland:
Pets must undergo a medical check-up 20-30 days before arriving in Iceland, a number of forms must be filled out to acquire an import license and various fees paid. Upon arrival the animal undergoes a thorough medical check before being taken into a four week quarantine.
Animals who don't go through this process are put down.
The family was planning to spend only a few days in Iceland, and rather than have the cat taken away and put down they decided to leave the country with the cat on the next flight back home.
In a statement on its Facebook page the Food and Veterinary Authority points out that a number of diceases which plague pets in other countries have either never reached Iceland or have been completely eradicated, appealing to everyone to help keep Icelandic pets and animals safe and healthy by not smuggling animals into the country.
A traveler arriving from Hamburg, Germany, was turned away at Keflavík Airport last week, after customs agents discovered a cat in his carry-on luggage. Any animals who enter Iceland must be quarantined. Animals who arrive illegally and are not quarantined are put down without mercy to protect against animal-born diseases. In April 2016 a cat which was smuggled into Iceland on a RV by a Swiss traveler was put down by the authorities.
Read more: Police puts down cat which was smuggled to Iceland on-board RV by foreign travellers
According to the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority a passenger onboard a flight from Hamburg noticed that a boy in the next aisle was hiding a cat in his carry-on luggage. The passenger notified customs officials, who stopped the boy and his family to inspect the luggage. After the agents looked through the carry-on luggage of the cat-smugglers they informed the people that family pets had to jump through very tough hoops before being allowed to vacation in Iceland:
Pets must undergo a medical check-up 20-30 days before arriving in Iceland, a number of forms must be filled out to acquire an import license and various fees paid. Upon arrival the animal undergoes a thorough medical check before being taken into a four week quarantine.
Animals who don't go through this process are put down.
The family was planning to spend only a few days in Iceland, and rather than have the cat taken away and put down they decided to leave the country with the cat on the next flight back home.
In a statement on its Facebook page the Food and Veterinary Authority points out that a number of diceases which plague pets in other countries have either never reached Iceland or have been completely eradicated, appealing to everyone to help keep Icelandic pets and animals safe and healthy by not smuggling animals into the country.
