Bringing animals to the Bahamas

[MattB]

We''e about to leave in a few days to go to the Bahamas, clearing in at West End. I applied in a timely manner for the animal permit to bring our 2 cats with us, but we''ve not received the permit. I spoke with the Ministry of Agriculture today, but they didn''t seem very helpful. How strict are they about that permit? Can arrangements be made with the Customs and Immigration people at West End? Any other suggestions (other than leaving the kitties at home!)?

[asailor]

i spent some time in the bahamas last year and met people who did bring dogs from the states. From what i remember, they said they needed something from a vet in the states. i''m not sure if it was a shots record or some kind of health record, but i don''t think they needed anything else. Customs & immigration seem to always run the show when showing up in another country, so i''d try to contact them, not the M of A.
S/V Temptation

[GordMay]

Animals need a "medical bill of health", from a Vet'', and dated within a very short time of arrival in Bahamas (? 24 - 48 Hrs, I think? ).

[fourknots]

Last year when I went, I had the proper papers, but my experience with 3rd world countries has been to not volunteer anything. We anchored off Walker''s Key, rowed in and didn''t mention the small dog with us. They could have cared less anyway, except maybe if they could have found a way to make more $$ off of me.

[Rich Morpurgo]

We followed all the rules and sent all the paperwork off to the min of Ag. We never heard back. We brought our dog in and had our end of the paperwork in hand. No one said a word.

Rumor has it if you don''t let the animals off the boat you don''t need all of this anyway. So for cat folk this might be useful to check on.

Rich

SV Jasmine

[Quidam]

Make sure you satisfy the permit''s criteria because if you do get boarde or have a problem on shore with your dog you will live to regret it. It''s easy to do it right. Your animals need to have a rabies vacc. within 1 year but not within the last month, and a vet. health cert. within the last 48 hr., I believe. The latter can be toyed with a bit; after all, it takes time to cross, and you can clear wherever/whenever you choose to make your first landfall.

I highly recommend you use a flea/tick 1-3 month treatment before you go; and don''t believe anyone who tells you sharks won''t bother dogs. We had a close call. The shark beached himself trying to grab our 60 lb dog who was wading off a beach. A rare case probably, but I wouldn''t trust allowing our family pet to jump overboard without one of us with her!