Today we had a comment on our post titled "Moving Pets to India? Be Prepared to Be Patient." The anonymous commenter was accusing us of being wrong about the requirements of a No Objection Certificate, and whether they are required in advance. I thought the comment was worth posting in its own blog, given the fact that there is so much confusion surrounding pet moves to India (hence the title of the previous post).
Below is a view of the official government document issued by India that states they require, as of September 15, 2008, an "Advance NOC" prior to the pets arrival. You will see that they used to issue a NOC after arrival (like you are stating, and like JetAirways states on their website) however due to having to send pets back to their place of origin because the paperwork wasn't in order, they now require a NOC to be issued in advance. I've quoted the important parts from the document below the document view (emphasis theirs):
NOC Official Document - PetRelocation.comIt was observed in the past that the airline was lifting livestocks without knowing the health requirements of the country. After arrival of the animals without proper health requirements/guidelines of GOI, it is very difficult to deport or destroy these animals. The step of giving ADVANCE NOC is necessary to prevent the entry of livestock which are not fulfilling the health guidelines.
As a company there is no fiscal or moral benefit for us to make up documents or requirements for another country. It only makes our job harder to obtain these documents, and assist people as best we can (often times for free, like we did here) who are unable to obtain them on their own. I even suggested to the second commenter that she try to get a friend or family member to help her with the NOC so she doesn't have to go through us or pay a customs agent. I see no benefit to pet relocation companies in that.
Regarding Hyderabad and your link saying they allow pets to enter, it merely states that pets can enter as "excess luggage" now. They still cannot -- to our knowledge -- arrive as manifest cargo or unaccompanied luggage. This means that they must arrive with their owners, or not at all. We send pets into Hyderabad and have moved them out as well, however we always have to have an agent accompany them. In the case of the pet owner who would like to move their pet as cargo, they are not able to move them into the country. Your link says so clearly:
- Pet dogs and pet cats along with accompanied baggage as permitted under baggage rules;
- Laboratory animals such as rats, mice and guinea pigs for Research and Development purposes
Also, I would like you to pay attention to the fact that we were 100% truthful in this scenario, as the pet owner was moving to Goa (so the issue of Hyderabad didn't even come up) with a sugar glider, which is neither a pet dog nor a pet cat, nor a "laboratory animal."
You should consider getting your facts straight before you begin accusing someone who is merely helping others a fraud.
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This officer is a corrupt individual ... here is a post from the web
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Dr SD Bhosale, Quarantine Officer, I/C, Animal Quarantine and Certification Service, Government of India: Bribe Taker
But I was without a doubt most worried about the paperwork required to release Zoey from India, and allow her entrance to the US.
One of the great advantages of moving to the US with a dog, however, is the fact that unlike most of Europe (excluding Finland), the US doesn't require quarantine, because it isn't rabies free. Countries like the UK will not permit even a rabies free dog, if it is from a country like India, residence, without a mandatory quarantine of six months. That's a heart wrenching period of time, and while some dogs may adapt, others, I've been told, never fully recover from the separation.
For entrance into the US, I required only two pieces of paperwork as it turned out--a health certificate from Zoey's vet dated five days prior to our departure and a vaccination certificate stating that she had been vaccinated against rabies. She had also to be micro chipped, which is a quick and painless procedure. All good vets keep microchips, so no prior legwork was required. I have a great vet for Zoey and he was helpful and obliging.
To be released from India, I was told, Zoey would require an export certificate from the Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (WR), Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, situated in Kopar Khairane, Navi Mumbai. The vet warned me to take every piece of paperwork I possessed, because government officials he said 'were temperamental.' Why they should be temperamental in the course of doing their duty I didn't understand.
When I called the department, I was asked to bring Zoey's health certificate, vaccination papers and three photos of her--side, full body, colour. Keeping in mind what the vet has said I took several sets of photographs. In one, Zoey is staring intently at a ball, in another, her tail is tucked between her legs as she's cajoled into giving me a side shot. Because the paperwork was in my husband's name I even took our marriage certificate along to prove that Zoey was indeed my dog.
The Quarantine Officer, Dr SD Bhosale, also asked me to bring Zoey along.
I drove down to Navi Mumbai, a journey of over two hours, and when I found the department and entered the gate, I was told by the guard that Zoey would have to remain the in the car, because 'animals aren't allowed inside.' Inside, the Department of Animal Husbandry ... An unassuming middle aged man who had been chatting with the guard when I arrived then walked up to me and said, 'I've been waiting for you. Now that I've seen your dog you may come up.' I thought he was both ridiculous and disingenuous. Had he really asked me to bring Zoey over so he could check that she existed? I also doubted that he had been waiting at the gate for me. Such integrity isn't the norm in my experience.
The Department functioned as you imagine these things do--in organised chaos. I was sent from 'Room A' to 'Room B' and from C to D in rotation; I filled in paperwork and quaked slightly when Zoey's photos were inspected closely. (Oh no, the tip of her tail isn't in her photograph!). As I waited my turn with Dr Bhosale, I got talking with the only other person there for a certificate, a young American woman headed to New York with her cat. 'I'm terrified,' she whispered to me. 'Dr Bhosale said my kitten's bottom wasn't in the photo.' I have a digital camera, I told her. Take another one. She shook her head, 'He said he may be able to do something.'
Just outside Dr Bhosale's door a man sidled up to me. 'They will ask for something.' What do you mean, I replied. He ran his thumb against his middle and forefingers, the universal sign for money. 'Him?' I asked, of Dr Bhosale. He was the head of the department for God's sake. 'Not him,' the man replied. 'But everyone else.' He gestured towards the paperwork I had already received from the department. It said 'government' and 'service.' 'Service,' the man pointed. 'The government takes bribes to do its service.'
I paid no heed to the man. I hadn't been asked for a bribe every before, and Dr Bhosale seemed perfectly decent if dour. Inside his office, as he signed my paperwork for the final time, he made polite conversation, even attempting to elicit a laugh from me by saying, 'I hope you drank the tea I sent you? Otherwise I may have to charge you a fine!' He spoke of migration and animals and how he understood the psychology of dogs because it was his life's work. I was impressed and about to thank him for his help when he handed over my paperwork, and with a smile but no change in his voice or demeanour, both of which were casual and calm, said to me, 'on your way out pay the guard five hundred rupees.'
I was so take aback, all I did was nod and walk out. When Dr Bhosale called out, 'have a good trip' I had no response.
I needed a stamp over Dr Bhosale's signature and so I walked for the final time into the first room I had entered into, where two men were sitting. One of them stuttered. As he handed over my file, he said to me, 'gggive me something.' What do you mean, I replied. 'Gggive me something,' he replied. A bribe? I said. Are you asking me for a bribe?' I raised my voice. I was better prepared to respond now than I had been only minutes before. The man tut-tutted, as though I had been rude. 'There are three of us,' he said. 'Gggive me something.' The other man in the room stared up at the ceiling. I gathered my paperwork and putting it away in my bag said, 'People like you force people like me to leave India. I can't tell you how disgusted I am.'
I was so deeply disappointed and disgusted: People begging for a hand out to do their job. And no, how much they're paid is irrelevant.
As I walked down the stairs I wondered whether I should pay the guard. As I reached my car the question was answered for me. The gate was locked from inside, the guard stood against it, his arms crossed. I thought about this.
About how disgusted I was to be asked for a bribe, how the paperwork was in my hand, how I could make a fuss, say my piece like I had upstairs, and leave without paying up. But then I thought about all the other fights I had fought; of how many complaints I had filed against auto drivers and taxi drivers and companies that had taken my money but not given me the services promised to me. Of the times I had called the police home. And I felt that this wasn't worth the fight. I felt I had fought too many, I was fed up, and yes, I was leaving. I paid the guard, he nodded at me politely and unlocked the gate.
I was immediately filled with guilt. I should have refused, I thought. I should have forced my way out.
But what if they had somehow cancelled my paperwork; what if I was stopped at the airport?
I realised this is the inherent and painful conundrum of living in the type of society we do. We are expected to take responsibility not just for our integrity, but for the integrity of others. We are expected to apologise and learn not just from our mistakes, but to force apologies and instill lessons into those who make mistakes. In the particular society we live in citizens are responsible for themselves and for the government, when in fact the government should be responsible for its actions, if not for ours too. When we fail to do this duty we feel as guilty as if we had asked for the bribe. We say to ourselves, 'By submitting, we perpetuate.'
I recounted this incident to my family and friends, and I was relieved to see they were as shocked as I had been. Despite everything, despite our expectations of such behaviour, not one of us was so jaded as to shrug it off.
I am writing this now to ensure a public record of Dr Bhosale's misbehaviour, and the misbehaviour of his colleagues who work on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra.
If anyone reading this is planning to export a dog, I'd also like you to know that the paperwork I paid for was not requested of me at the airport. I had asked my travel agent to buy Zoey a ticket and he did, on Lufthansa, which we flew because it is one of two airlines including Delta which allows dogs under 8 kilos to fly in the cabin. The ticket was all that was asked of me at the Bombay airport, and in the US I was waved through without a second glance and no request for paperwork.
Thank you for the information. This is why it is advised that people moving in/out of India with pets work with an official customs clearance company/agent. Being familiar with the pet import and export process, these agents have a familiarity with the customs officials and are less likely to be taken advantage of.