VET ON CALL: Before you rush to import animals, please think twice

I have received tens of enquiries on importing animals, both livestock and pets, and the number keeps rising each day.

Some of the animals people want to import are rare species that have only recently been domesticated as pets.

They may be available in Kenya or are purely exotic.

Exotic species often fetch high prices because they are in short supply. The most common reasons offered for importing include bringing new breeds and species into the country, expanding the breed diversity by introducing new genetics of existing breeds and the prestige of owning unique animal species.
There are also animals that are brought specifically for slaughter, especially cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and donkeys.

Animals imported for breeding have some tax exemptions while those coming in for slaughter attract low import fees but are not exempted from tax. Unfortunately, a majority of people rush into importing animals without seeking to understand the intricacies.

First, there is the official procedure of importation. This must start with understanding all the government agencies involved in the importation of each type of animal and the specific requirements.

The Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS) is the agency that certifies all animal imports and issues an import permit. In cases where domesticated wild species are being imported such as parrots, peacocks and wildcats, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) must also issue an import permit to be used together with the one of the DVS.

If you are intending to import animals, it is important to know that there are various certifications that must be made both locally and in the country of origin.

The processes are very stringent and require accurate documentation. Potential importers often ignorantly make arrangements with exporters and even pay commitment deposits before exploring the importation process. This opens them to loss of money either by delving into impossible purchases, simply being conned or incurring costs of maintaining the booked animals with the exporter long before full documentation is done.

Quarantine before shipping

You see, many exporters will tell you that any costs incurred on the animal after you have booked it becomes your responsibility. Some animals like sheep, goats and cattle require to be quarantined for specified periods and undergo testing for specific diseases before they can be shipped.

An importer should ensure that they only pay the cost of quarantine during the testing period and not from the time of booking the animals. It is, therefore, important to book the animals at the time they enter the quarantine and testing period to minimise the maintenance cost before shipping.

Early this year, I had an interesting case of Jayash who was very keen on importing a caracal cat from Russia. He had been told the cat had been bred in captivity and had all the Russian government papers. They were very rare animals and only one female was available.

Apparently, many people wanted the cat but whoever paid the full amount first would get the pet.

Jayash went ahead and paid fully for the cat, fancying himself as the only person with a caracal pet in Kenya. Later the same day, he was told he was lucky because another breeder had a young male. He was even sent video clips on WhatsApp of the seller playing with the beautiful cat.

He again fully paid for the second cat. He had already wired Sh800,000 to the lady exporter. She would personally deliver the animals to Nairobi by air, thus she needed money for the air ticket. She claimed she would pay for the freight charges for the pets as part of the sale price.

How to get import permits

It was at that point that Jayash started having doubts and consulted me to find out if the cats could be shipped unaccompanied. He was surprised when I detailed to him the importation process for wild species even if they have been domesticated. He needed import permits from DVS and KWS; and customs clearance.

To get the import permits, he needed the official ownership documents for the cats, the animals’ identification documents and vaccination certificates. To get customs clearance when the animals arrived at the airport, he needed the export permit from Russia, otherwise called an International Veterinary Certificate and a veterinary health certificate.

I told Jayash the animals did not need to be accompanied on shipment. What they needed was proper treatment before departure and full export/import documentation both in Kenya and Russia. Short of that, he was never going to get the animals because they would never leave Russia without proper documents.

When he confronted the exporter with the newly acquired information, she switched off her phone. He had just been neatly conned.

Cheap source of cattle

Mwangi, on the other hand, approached me with a request for information on importation of slaughter cattle from Rwanda. He apparently had found a cheap source of cattle in that country. I was amazed by the simplicity of his importation plan. “Doctor, the main issue is the cost of transporting the animals from Rwanda to Dagoretti,” he stated confidently.

He further said he had already paid a deposit for the animals but he did not disclose the amount. I explained to him the operation was much more complicated than he thought. He would be better advised to do rigorous calculations on the economic viability of his endeavour.

I told him since the cows were coming from Rwanda by road, he needed permits from three countries.

Kenya would issue the import permit, Uganda a transit permit and Rwanda the export permit.

Mwangi left my office unconvinced and saying I was making the importation process appear impossible. He called me three weeks later to confirm he had learnt valuable lessons the hard way.
He had gone all the way to Rwanda only to find no slaughter cattle and the Ugandans confirmed to him he needed a transit permit.