Questions about pet birds in Switzerland

RecentlyArrived · #1 12.12.2009, 17:38

We arrived in the summer and were not able to bring my daughter's cockatiel at the time, but the friend taking care of him at home can't do it any longer, so we are once again considering bringing him here to canton Vaud. I've read several related threads here, but have some more questions:

Is it true that the law insists we have two birds if we have any?
Can someone point me to a link to the laws, preferably in English, about keeping birds in Switzerland?
I'm also concerned about getting someone to take care of our bird when we are gone for more than a few days. Cockatiels are very social and really need to be taken into someone's house - someone who has experience caring for birds - rather than having someone come over and feed them at our house. Any suggestions? I know we'll be gone for 3 or 4 weeks minimum in the summer and since a lot of other people are gone then too, I don't want to get stuck.
Anyone have experience shipping a bird from the US? So far, the only airline that will let him travel in the cabin is Delta, and their fares seem very high.

Thanks!

Sada · #2 12.12.2009, 18:26

Yes, apparently there is a law since September 1, 2008 in Switzerland to keep some animals in pairs. Your bird would need therefore a companion.
I never heard of any control being done though so ...

Here is a link about Bringing pets to Switzerland

And for finding somebody to take care of your bird(s), I think a neighbor you can trust would be the ideal solution. Some animal shelters offer a great service though also.

Mrs. Doolittle · #3 12.12.2009, 22:05

	Quote:	RecentlyArrived
	We arrived in the summer and were not able to bring my daughter's cockatiel at the time, but the friend taking care of him at home can't do it any longer, so we are once again considering bringing him here to canton Vaud. I've read several related threads here, but have some more questions: Is it true that the law insists we have two birds if we have any? Can someone point me to a link to the laws, preferably in English, about keeping birds in Switzerland? I'm also concerned about getting someone to take care of our bird when we are gone for more than a few days. Cockatiels are very social and really need to be taken into someone's house - someone who has experience caring for birds - rather than having someone come over and feed them at our house. Any suggestions? I know we'll be gone for 3 or 4 weeks minimum in the summer and since a lot of other people are gone then too, I don't want to get stuck. Anyone have experience shipping a bird from the US? So far, the only airline that will let him travel in the cabin is Delta, and their fares seem very high. Thanks!

We travelled with Swiss from Tokyo to Zürich and our parrot was in the cargo hold. She was too big to travel in the cabin, and way too noisy.

But a cockatiel shouldn't be a problem in the cabin.

RecentlyArrived · #4 13.12.2009, 14:36

	Quote:	Mrs. Doolittle
	We travelled with Swiss from Tokyo to Zürich and our parrot was in the cargo hold. She was too big to travel in the cabin, and way too noisy. But a cockatiel shouldn't be a problem in the cabin.

I agree that a cockatiel should be small enough to travel in the cabin, but we called a lot of different airlines and they all seem to have regulations against carrying them in the cabin into Europe. Some airlines will let you have cockatiels in the cabin in other parts of the world, but just not in Europe. It's not just cockatiels, maybe all pets, but I don't remember the details.