<p>In case anyone wants to find out what is required to take a parrot on a road trip from Washington State into Alaska, through Canada and back, I thought I'd post what I've found in my research here.<br><br>Our plans: Leave WA State in May, tour parts of BC, AB & YT of Canada and the Anchorage/Fairbanks areas of AK, then return in July ... in a 20' Class C, 2 adults, 1 older dog, and a 20 yr old Senegal Parrot.<br><br>After talking with the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service's border inspection offices in Anchorage, Seattle and Blaine, WA, as well as their main office in Arlington, VA, this is what I've found out about bringing the parrot with us on our travels.<br><br>More than 60 days before departure, I need to apply for a "Certificate of Ownership for Personally owned Wildlife," otherwise known as a "CITES Pet Passport." <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cost=$75</span><br><br>As part of the Pet Passport application process our parrot would need some sort of permanent ID (tattoo, band or microchip). I'm estimating <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cost=$75</span> at an avian vet for either a band or a chip.<br><br>At each border crossing (to/from WA/Canada and to/from Canada/AK), the Pet Passport would need to be stamped (at the Sumas crossing in WA and in Anchorage AK) ... four stamps in total. The inspection agent in Anchorage said that there was no cost in Anchorage (but there would be a cost in Fairbanks), and the agent at Blaine/Sumas said that the cost would be $331 each time we exited and entered the US at the WA State border, for a total <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cost=$662</span><br><br>The other agency, in addition to the US Fish & Wildlife, that needs to be satisfied is the USDA. They check to make sure that the bird is disease free via a Vet inspection right at the border. They will check the parrot coming back into the US at Sumas for a <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cost=$35</span>.<br><br>What I've learned is that boarder crossings between Canada and WA and AK are not consistent in how they carry out the law, nor in what they charge travellers in that process.<br><br>My research also shows that I'll need a health certificate for both our parrot and our dog that has been completed within 30 days of each border crossing. That means that we'll need to get the certificates before we leave WA State and again before we leave AK towards home. If those cost an estimated $35 each to get, then that would be an additional <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cost=$140</span>. (Thankfully, our dog's rabies vaccination would still be current.)<br><br>In addition to these cost (almost $1000), there's also scheduling issues. Each crossing inspection (for the parrot) must be scheduled 72 hours before entering the neighboring country.<br><br>To avoid these hassels, the border agent at Blaine recommended just air shipping the parrot from WA to AK to make it interstate travel for the bird (vs. international), thus avoiding the costs and scheduling hassels. We also looked at taking the Alaska Ferry from Bellingham, WA to Whittier, AK as a similar alternative avoid international travel.<br><br>Because of the stress on the parrot, we won't ship her. And, the cost of taking our RV round trip on the ferry is over $5000 and would be stressful on both the parrot and the dog, as well (because they must be left alone in the RV).<br><br>As much as I want to drive the AlCan with hubby, I'm seriously thinking that our responsibility to our pets outweighs that desire. Our dog, being a pack animal, and our parrot, being a wild flock animal, would suffer being away from their pack and flock. Neither leaving them behind, nor taking them into AK feels very humane at this point.</p>
