traveling with multiple pets one way on a cruiseship to italy

Question
I have 1 dog, 10 kitties, 5 birds, and 1 chinchilla.
I want to take them to live in Italy with me from USA. The trip is one way.
I'm know I need paperwork for the dog and cats. What about the birds and chinchilla?
Thank you,
C.

Answer
Hi, there.  First I wish to respond to arriving in Italy.
- up to five (5) pets are allowed to enter Italy non-commercially, if more than 5 pets of any kind are entering then the owner is considered a commercial transporter of animals and very different rules apply.
- all animals need to be over 3 months old.
- all animals need to be current on their rabies vaccination, and if the vaccine is the first it needs to have been administerd more than 21 days prior to entrance.
- from my research, it looks as if your dogs and cats all need what is called a Pet Passport to enter Italy.  A pet passport is given by a veterinarian and includes details of all rabies vaccinations, any treatment for ticks or tapeworm and proof of microchip ID.  Rabbits and rodents may travel without a passport, but be declared at the border.
- dogs entering Italy must be muzzled, on a lead and have their won ticket.
- I'm not finding any info re: paperwork for the birds, I'll keep looking and respond later.

Regarding taking your animals on the cruiseship, the particular cruise line will be much better at giving you accurate info than I.

Thanks so much for your question.  I'll look more into arriving with birds and get back to you.

Juli

Addendum:  It's looking to me as if the birds might post a difficulty.  Are they rare birds - parrots, etc? Certification of age, health, birth (to prove you are not trafficing in stolen or poached animals) might be necessary.  However, I'm just not sure without knowing what kind of birds you have.  I'd suggest you contact the Italian Consulate in your city, or the nearest large city and speak to the representative of the Agriculture Department for current and accurate information.