Whoever imports live animals, food, by-products or other products of animal origin needs broad knowledge of a wide range of different regulations. She / he has to ascertain that all import requirements are fully complied with. Many animal species or products can only be imported under defined conditions from certain countries and “approved” establishments. In many cases a permit has to be applied for in advance. Besides, official veterinary certificates have to be provided that must have been issued by the competent veterinary authorities of the country of origin. 

A series of general rules have to be observed to understand the veterinary import conditions. You can find an introduction to the subject in the following document:

Apart from the legislation in the field of competence of the Federal Veterinary Office there are other regulations governing the conditions to import animals and products of animal origin. Dependent on a given species or product additional rules to observe may arise from the import formalities of the customs, the Federal Office for Agriculture or cantonal regulations (e.g. concerning the keeping of dogs of some “dangerous” breeds). Coordinates see box Links.

If you have questions please contact the Federal Veterinary Office (see box Helpdesk).