What do I have to do to bring my pet bird with me to Alaska?

What documentation is needed for traveling to/from a foreign country with a live pet exotic bird?

All parrots and many other pet birds are regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Wildbird Conservation Act.

 

 

If you intend to leave Alaska and travel to a foreign country (including Canada) with such a pet bird, you must obtain a permit from the Service's Office of Management Authority (OMA). Applications must be received by OMA at least sixty days in advance of your travel. Contact OMA at 1-800-358-2104 (toll free). Additional information can also be obtained from the Service's International Affairs Office.

 

If you have lived outside the United States for at least one year, you may import into the United States a maximum of two pet birds per year. Before returning to Alaska or any another area of the United States, you should apply to OMA for a permit to import your bird(s). Again, an application must be received by the (OMA)

at least sixty days in advance of your travel. 

 

When you arrive in the United States with the bird(s), you must present documents showing that you have lived outside the United States for at least a year, that each bird was obtained legally, and that the foreign country where you reside or resided authorized the export of the bird(s).

You must also file a "Declaration for the Import or Export of Wildlife" (USFWS Fm 3-177) at the time of import.

 

For information on whether the above restrictions apply to your pet bird(s), please contact OMA at 800-358-2104, or our Import/Export Office in Anchorage at 907-271-6198. Canaries, budgerigars ("budgies") and cockatiels are exempt from the above permit requirements. 

 

 

 

If you plan on flying directly to or from Alaska to or from anywhere in the contiguous United States (domestic travel), the only documentation required for you pet bird(s) is a health certificate from an accredited veterinarian, as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.