Airlines roar with pet transport biz

Literally. With six to eight million 'passengers' per year, pet animals have become an important sub-segment of the global aviation market.

Says Dr Eytan Kreiner, head veterinarian at Animal Airways, a UK- based air transport firm, which specialises in transporting pet animals, " The Internet has become the main platform for pet products, pet services and of course, for pet sales. While customers are tempted to purchase pets online most of them are unaware of their countries' rules and regulations, which are mandatory to import and are unfamiliar with the necessary procedures for shipping pets abroad safely to their new homes."

New trend A growing number of pet owners are turning to specialised carriers like Animal Airways to sort out their pet transportation issues. They help in getting the right documents, getting things organised & providing regular updates on progress of the case. The number About 5- 10 mn pets are sold via online channels annually & over 10% are shipped abroad to their new homes. About 1 mn puppies are shipped globally as part of pet online sales. Why biz boom? Regulatory issues are the biggest reason firms like Animal Airways are flourishing. Most nations need specific vaccinations & some even need blood tests for rabies, while others insist on pet quarantine and pet shipment by cargo only. Animal Airways is a veterinarian institution & its vet division gives everything from pre- flight checks to health certificates, vaccinations, prevention treatments, pet passports even microchips to track pets.

Raju Poojary, a Bangalore-based techie who moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, agrees. "Every airline tells you you can carry your pet on the same aircraft, but nobody tells you the procedures or the kind of documents you need," he writes in an e-mail interview.

Poojary adds, "I had a horrific experience earlier, when my family had to stay back in a transit country because the pet was not allowed."

A growing number of pet owners like Poojary are turning to specialised carriers like Animal Air to sort out their pet transportation. Poojary, who found them through an Internet search, spent around $3,000 (Rs1,35,000) on transporting his pet.

"But it was worth every penny getting my pet united with my family again," he says, and adds that he will opt for a specialist transporter again. "They helped us in getting the right documents, getting everything organised and also talked to us regularly updating the progress of the case." Millions of others seem to agree. An estimated five to 10 million pets are sold through online channels annually and over 10 per cent are then shipped abroad to their new homes. " According to our research, about one million puppies are shipped internationally as part of pet online sales," says Kreiner.

Dogs are most commonly purchased online, accounting for 60 per cent of the total sales, followed by cats (30 per cent) and ferrets, birds and hamsters ( 10 per cent). Animal Airways estimates that over three quarters of pets sold online are pedigree, while 15- 20 per cent are considered " exotic" in western countries.

Regulatory issues are the biggest reason firms like Animal Airways are flourishing. Almost every country has its own policy regarding animals - wild or domesticated. Most countries require specific vaccinations, while some require even blood tests for rabies, while others insist on pet quarantine and pet shipment by cargo only.

According to Dr. Kreiner, the main challenge in serving clients that purchase pets online is assisting them with the forms required by their countries for pet imports. Another challenge is finding the most convenient and most " pet friendly" airline or cargo operator to handle the international shipment. Last but not least is the veterinarian aspect involved in pet imports.

Animal Airways is a veterinarian institution and its veterinary division provides everything from pre- flight checks to health certificates, vaccinations, prevention treatments, pet passports and even microchips to track pets.