Legal or illegal???

[crazyred]

Attention Canadians....is it legal for a private hobbyist, such as myself, to ship fish....namely my tank bred GBR's, to Canada? I have a bud that lives in Calgary, Alberta and she's wanting some of my rams. The shipping rate is outrageous, but may be worth it to her.....I just don't want to break the law. Legal or not?

[shayfish]

I doubt its illeagl. Im sure some fish stores here must get their fish internationally. Dont take my word for it though... maybe give customs a call.

I wonder why would it be worth it to her... its not like theres no GBRs here.

[joannde]

Even if its legal the mail will have to go through customs, which may delay shipping - you might want to ask about that also. Call the post office, they should be able to tell you.

[55gallons]

anything shipped to canada has to go thru customs - shipping time is 5-7 days . not good for fish shipping if its legal . altho it maybe different rules for live shippments. i think the shipment has to be quarentined for x amount of time - have your friend call customs in canada and find out the details . IT may not be worth the trouble . unless you plan on takin a trip north i don't think they check cars when crossin the border - they just ask if you have anything to claim .

[jsoong]

The topic had been discussed ... Someone posted the info from Canada customs - It is legal to import ornamental fish privately without a permit ... However, it generally takes 3-7 days for private goods to clear customs, so it would be rather risky to ship live fish, esp. in winter.

LFS import fish all the time. I don't know how fast they can get live fish through customs, but they would have a pre-approved import permit, so that might speed things up.

[EXM]

I highly doubt it is illegal seeing as the only animals that are illegal to be shipped there are anything over 10 lbs and even then you can aquire a permit for that for a small fee. When ever I ship to another country, I never tell the postal service what I am shipping, even over seas. It's just as a precaution in case the country does not allow wild animals in or out of the country, for example Hawaii or Australia, in which I have shipped. All I say on the box is "Do not expose to extreme heat or cold" or "Fragile avoid extreme temperatures" and NOT "PERISHABLE" or "LIVE ANIMALS" or "LIVE FISH". You can usually get them across the border pretty easily if you follow those simple rules.

[Toirtis]

Well, here is an answer from somebody who has imported thousands of boxes of fish from the US (and other places), is quite familiar with customs, and lives in Calgary.

Shipped via an airline (ship either afternoon or in the evening, so that it will arrive during business hours), the box of fish should arrive in about 6-14 hours (make certain that the fish are packed with pure oxygen in the bags...or in breather bags...in a proper styro fish shipping box, and use a 20+ hour heat pack), depending on where it is coming from and how direct the flight is. Upon arrival, you simply take the paperwork to customs for them to clear. Customs costs are minimal for personal shipments, and clearing should take about 60-90 minutes at most. And yes, its all perfectly legal, although the shipping will probably run about $100.

[crazyred]

Thank you, Toirtis. I priced shipping with DHL and it's around $85. With customs fees it may get close to $100. Since these would be coming from almost Mexico (15 miles north of Brownsville, TX) all the way to Calgary, I think she would be better off checking her LFS.

[bs6749]

Did you use next day Crazyred? When I got my GBR's from Florida the seller used DHL second day and he said that is what he normally uses with his that he breeds and he has NEVER had a DOA with them. I live in Michigan and shipping was $26 for 2nd day for 8 GBR's. I know that there is a price increase to Canada, but THAT much? WOW.

[shayfish]

Tell her to check Red Coral Aquariums or Gold Aquariums. I am almost certain that they both have GBRs.