Guidance

Import of pet invertebrates (other than bees, molluscs and crustaceans), amphibians (except salamanders) and reptiles - Import Information Note (IIN) BLLV/8

Published 2 December 2024

1. Important information 

Import Information Notes (IINs) are technical documents containing import requirements and are for use by importers and border officials. 

Please be aware that import conditions may be updated due to changes in policy or legislation. Please ensure that you check the current version of the IIN. 

Importers should note that the information given relates only to animal health and public health conditions of import. It does not give guidance on other conditions that may need to be met. 

References to European Union (EU) legislation within this document are references to direct EU legislation which has been assimilated in Great Britain (assimilated direct legislation), as defined in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and can be viewed on the UK legislation website. 

Please note that any links to legislation provided in this document are for information purposes only and may not be the most recent version. 

References to imports into Great Britain (GB) in any IIN also includes imports into the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.  

References to trading partners include non-EU, EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.  

The Border Target Operating Model (TOM) is the new approach to importing into GB that will be progressively introduced from the end of January 2024. 

2. Scope 

Conditions for importing pet invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles. This includes insects (with the exception of bees) and ornamental aquatic invertebrates (such as coral and starfish) and their genetic material. 

This IIN does not include salamanders, bees, or aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans, molluscs.  

3. Definitions 

Pet animals are defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 576/2013 as:

“Pet animal means an animal of a species listed in Annex I accompanying its owner or an authorised person during a non-commercial movement, and which remains for the duration of such non-commercial movement under the responsibility of the owner or the authorised person.” 

Annex I, Part B of the aforementioned Regulation includes invertebrates (except bees, crustaceans and molluscs), amphibia and reptiles. 

Pet reptiles

Reptiles are cold-blooded, egg-laying vertebrates, for example snakes and tortoises. 

Pet amphibians 

Amphibians are animals that live on land and breed in water, for example frogs and toads. Salamanders are subject to animal health requirements and therefore are not covered by this IIN. 

Pet invertebrates (except bees molluscs and crustaceans) 

Invertebrates are animals that do not have a backbone, for example ants, beetles and worms. 

4. Out of scope 

The following pets are out of scope of this IIN as they are subject to animal health requirements.  

Pet crustaceans and molluscs  

For information on importing pet crustaceans (such as crabs and shrimps) into England and Wales you should contact the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS). 

For information on importing pet crustaceans (such as crabs and shrimps) into Scotland, you should contact Marine Scotland.

Pet bees 

You can find information on importing bees from the Food and Environmental Research Agency (FERA), noting they are not under the scope of this import information note. 

More information about importing bees

Salamanders 

These amphibians are subject to animal health requirements regarding the fungal disease Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal disease) and they must enter GB with heath certification laid out in Decision (EU) 2018/320. 

For more information about the importation of salamanders see IIN BSAL/1.

5. Country of origin 

Imports are permitted from any trading partner. 

6. Import requirements 

With certain exceptions (see below) pet invertebrates, pet reptiles and pet amphibians in scope of this IIN can enter GB accompanied by their owner or an authorised person. There are no animal health import requirements for these animals. They do not need to be accompanied by a health certificate or undergo veterinary checks on entry into GB and therefore they do not need to be imported via a Border Control Post (BCP). 

These animals can be brought into GB as long as they are accompanied by their owner or an authorised person and a signed declaration from the owner saying that the animals are fit and healthy to complete the journey and they are not for sale. 

You should contact the airline or shipping line to ensure that they are prepared to carry the animal(s). 

There are 30 species of invasive non-native (alien) animal that are listed as of special concern because of their:

• invasiveness
• ability to establish in several nations across Europe 

They cause severe problems for native animals and the environment. 

You must therefore comply with Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (please see section 13 below). 

Check if the species you want to import is an invasive alien species  

In addition the importer must:

• comply with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
  
  
• comply with plant health rules regarding the import of certain invertebrate species. Many non-native invertebrates have the potential to be plant pests in the UK and are therefore prohibited.  

7. EFTA countries and Greenland 

The UK government recognises that Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein implement EU veterinary legislation in relation to the movement of animals and animal products. Therefore, animals and animal products from Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein must comply with the same requirements and controls applying to live animals and animal products from EU Member States. This also applies to Iceland for products of animal origin for human consumption, composite products and aquaculture. 

Furthermore, in relation to imports from Faroe Islands this also applies to fishery products and aquaculture only. In relation to imports from Greenland this applies to fishery products and fish by-products only. 

8. Great Britain and Crown Dependencies (CDs)

Trade movements between GB, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are treated as national movements and as such, no animal health conditions are applicable to pet invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians.

9. Northern Ireland (NI)

Trade movements from NI into GB are treated as national movements and as such, no animal health conditions are applicable. 

Find additional information on movements from NI to GB 

Invasive alien species listed as being of special concern under Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species may not be brought from NI to GB. 

10. Welfare of animals during transport 

Importers are reminded that they must comply with rules on the welfare of animals during transport. For information on the rules see GOV.UK. All animals including invertebrates must be transported in an appropriate way for the species involved.

Guidance on the welfare of animals during transport

11. Deaths of animals in transit 

If an imported animal dies in transit to, or at a port or airport in GB, the carcase of the animal would need to be disposed of in line with animal by-product (ABP) regulations. If any clarification is required with regards to ABP disposal, you can contact your local Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) office. 

12. Endangered species 

The import of some species of animals may require export and import certificates under CITES. 

CITES permits must be issued in advance of import and they can take up to 30 days to process. Applicants should be aware of this when applying for their permits. Those species requiring CITES permits must be moved in compliance with CITES guidelines for the transport and preparation for shipment of live animals.

For more information please contact the APHA – CITES team: 

Centre for International Trade - Bristol
Horizon House
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AH

Tel: +44 (0) 3000 200 301  

Email: wildlife.licensing@apha.gov.uk 

13. Invasive non-native (alien) animal species 

It is the importer’s responsibility to check if their species of pet is not included on the list of species of special concern under the retained EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 before importation takes place.

The import of companion (pet) animals that are listed as species of special concern under this Regulation is prohibited by law.

Check the rules for invasive non-native (alien) animal species   

14. Safeguard measures

Emergency safeguard action can be taken at very short notice to prohibit or restrict the importation of certain products from certain countries following an outbreak of disease or a public health issue. 

Latest updates about disease outbreaks which may affect imports into the UK

Further information on the international and UK monitoring of animal diseases may be found on the animal disease monitoring website. 

Importers can get the latest news about exotic notifiable disease outbreaks from the APHA exotic notifiable disease outbreak subscription service. 

15. Legislation.gov.uk 

Consolidated legal texts, which integrate the basic instruments of assimilated EU legislation with their amendments and corrections in a single, non-official document, are available. Each consolidated text contains a list of all legal documents taken into account for its construction.  

You can search for consolidated texts by inputting the ‘document number’ and ‘year’ and then clicking the option ‘All UK Legislation (including originating from the EU)’ on legislation.gov.uk.  

Once you press ‘search’, you can find the relevant legislation listed with the full title of the legislation. Once you have selected the legislation, you may see the following message at the top of the page:

“Changes to legislation: There are outstanding changes not yet made to XXX. Those changes will be listed when you open the content using the Table of Contents below. Any changes that have already been made to the legislation appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.”

Please note that the consolidated text may not contain the latest amendment to the legislation, as it takes several weeks for this to be updated. EU Exit amendments to legislation may take several months too. We advise to read the legislation alongside the EU Exit amendments made in the below UK laws:

• The Import of, and Trade in, Animals and Animal Products (Miscellaneous Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
  
  
• The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
  
  
• The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2020
  
  
• The Aquatic Animal Health and Alien Species in Aquaculture, Animals, and Marketing of Seed, Plant and Propagating Material (Legislative Functions and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
  
  
• The Animals, Aquatic Animal Health, Invasive Alien Species, Plant Propagating Material and Seeds (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
  
  
• The Trade in Animals and Animal Products (Legislative Functions) and Veterinary Surgeons (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019  

Texts provided in this section are intended for information only. Please note that these texts have no legal value. For legal purposes please refer to the texts published in legislation.gov.uk. 

Further information on changes in relation to EU legislation and UK law can be found on legislation.gov.uk. Please continue to use legislation.gov.uk to find EU retained law applicable to GB. Please avoid using the EU Commission website for information on imports into GB.

16. Contact for further information

For more information about import requirements, contact the APHA imports team:

Centre for International Trade - Carlisle
Eden Bridge House
Lowther Street
Carlisle
CA3 8DX

Email: imports@apha.gov.uk 

Telephone: 03000 200 301