ATT: New Shipping Requirements

[leoncurrie]

I went to the airport today and my shipment was rejected based on the fact that the snake was in a Styrofoam/Cardboard container. This is the literature that the employee at Air Canada Cargo provided to me. He said that my snake would not be shipped unless it met the following requirements:

CONTAINER REQUIREMENT 44

Applicable to Snakes

The following instructions must be compiled with in addition to the principles laid down in the General Container Requirements for Reptiles and Amphibians.

Measurement

Snakes should be measured by total length (TL) and by body width (BW), at the widest point of the animal¡¯s body.

Care should be taken that these animals are never stretched during measurement. Measurements of width should be taken with the animal resting in normal posture.

Specific Requirements

All rigid containers must have some kind of packing material (i.e. crumpled paper). Packing material is also recommended for bags.

Burlap (hessian) sacks are not allowed for any snake species less than 120 cm (48 in).

The maximum number of animals per bag or container must not be increased even when larger bags or containers are used.

Packing Density for Snakes in Flat Lying Bags
Total length / Body width / Max # animals per bag / Minimum bag size
¡Ý 120cm (48in) / > 4cm(1.5in) / 1 / Dependent on the size of the animal
¡Ý 90-120cm ¡À 15cm (36-48in ¡À 6in) / ¡Ü 4cm(1.5in) / 8 / 45 ¡Á 60cm (18 ¡Á24in)
4 / 30 ¡Á 45cm (12 ¡Á 18in)
¡Ý 60¨C90cm ¡À 10cm (24¨C36 in ¡À 4in) / ¡Ü 4cm (1.5in) / 12 / 45 ¡Á 60cm (18 ¡Á24in)
8 / 30 ¡Á 45cm(12 ¡Á 18in)
¡Ý 30¨C60cm ¡À 10cm (12¨C24in ¡À 4in) / ¡Ü 4cm(1.5in) / 14 / 30 ¡Á 45cm(12 ¡Á 18in)
¡Ü 30cm ¡À 7.5cm(12¡À3in) / ¡Ü 4cm(1.5in) / 24 / 30 ¡Á 45cm(12 ¡Á 18 in)


Exception for Stout Bodied Python Regius (Ball Pythons)
All lengths up to 120 cm (48 in) (15 cm [6 in] variance) / >4cm(1.5 in) / 8 / 45 ¡Á 60 cm
(18 ¡Á 24 in)
All other lengths / < 4cm(1.5in) / Same as in snake table above / Same as in snake table above

If the bag is suspended, it must be suspended horizontally from the opposite ends and the maximum number of animals per bat should be divided by two.

Plastic containers are permissible for snakes less than 60 cm (24 in) in length. These containers must be rigid and able to support the entire weight of all other containers when stacked upright and if turned upside down, without failing structurally (without bending, cracking or collapsing). The size of these containers must enable the animals to have contact with their whole ventral surface to the floor of the container.

The following snake species should be packed singly because they are cannibalistic:

Black-headed python, woma (Aspiditis spp.) Milk and king snakes (lampropeltis) Mussurana (Clelia clelia)

* PLEASE NOTE: All Snakes over 24 in. in total length must be shipped within a non-crushable wooden crate withstanding a minimum of 100 lbs.