From: Dave_Spence.Ebina_PBU@FUJIXEROX.XEROX.COM
Newsgroups: sci.lang.japan
Subject: goats in Japan
Date: 3 Sep 92 23:53:43 GMT
Reply-To: Dave_Spence.Ebina_PBU@fujixerox.xerox.com
Organization: The Internet

Kurt,
I don't know about goats, but I brought my two dogs with me when I moved to
Japan.
	There is a two week quarantine for dogs entering Japan. The two weeks
starts when they are admitted into quarantine (not at arrival). The quarantine
area is at Narita (close by, not actually IN the airport).
BEFORE YOUR DOG LEAVES FOR JAPAN:
	- The dogs must have had rabies shots within 14 days of arrival (That
is critical - one day too long and the certificate is no longer good).
	- A qualified vet must have examined the the dogs within that same
period (Same as above).
	- The vet needs to fill out an official health form in duplicate (Two
ORIGINALS, not copies), certifying that he administered the rabies shot and
that he has examined the dog and 'guarantess' the dog is in good health).
	- The certificates must both be signed / stamped by an official
government health agency (again, both have to be signed and stamped as
ORIGINALS).
	- You need to have a shot record for the dog (i.e., what shots has it
had, when, other than the rabies).
	- The NAME of the dogs on the certificates is supposed to be the same
as on the local license your dog has where you now live, though I don't know
how they would be able to check that.
AFTER ARRIVAL IN JAPAN:
	- Although you CAN handle the import procedures by yourself, I would
recommended that you hire a customs broker to take care of the import and
movement of the dog into quarantine.
	- Someone MUST be at the airport to accept the dog and handle the
paperwork and movement to quarantine. I queried the airlines and THEY don't
handle that. They'll hold them in their cargo area (assuming you ship by air
cargo, which is very expensive) until someone picks them up and moves them to
quarantine and that's all). Otherwise, you're on your own.
	- If the dog is small enough to accompany you on the trip (in a cage in
the luggage compartment), you pick up the dogs at the baggage claim area and
take the dogs and the certificates to the ANIMAL quarrantine desk (NOT the
normal quarantine booths prior to immigration. The ANIMAL quarantine desk is in
the baggage claim area.). They can do nothing more than stamp the certificates.
They will not move your dogs to quarantine nor arrange it for you. You have to
do that. That is why it is a good idea to hire a customes broker. If you can't
hire one before the dog is shipped, or you bring it, check with the airlines
rep in the baggage area to assist you in contacting one in the airport.
	- If the dog does not accompany you, or comes as cargo (as mine did),
the paperwork accompanies the dog with the shipping documents. The problem is
that the dog will not be in the arrival area when you arrive. They will be in
the cargo area of the airline that brought them to Japan. My dogs are large
(both over 50 kilos) and the cages I used would not fit in the baggage
compartment of the plane, so I had to ship them as cargo. I assume your goats
(if you were serious) would fit into this category. The airlines say that any
animal over a hundred pounds is cargo.
	- When the dog is accepted by quarantine (physically in the quarantine
area), it will be assigned a number. If you want to check on how the dog is
doing during the quarantine period or go out to the airport to see it, you need
to know the number. If you hire a broker, make sure the broker gets the number
and tells you what it is. (I don't know about you, but I did NOT go to the
airport during the quarantine period to see my dogs, although I called almost
every day, because I figured the trauma would be worse if the saw me and then I
left them again. It is bad enough as it is).
WHEN THE QUARANTINE PERIOD IS OVER, you can go and pick up your dog, or have
someone do it for you (I had the broker arrange for the dogs to be trucked to
my house).
The quarantine people are very good and took good care of the dogs. They fed
them and gave them exercise every day. I forget the cost per day per dog, but
it is about 6,000 yen a day per dog, if I remember.  The prices may have
changed by now. It is payable when the dog is picked up. That is another reason
I liked using the broker, they paid it and billed me later.  IF you use a
broker, however, get a quote on the cost, including delivery to your house,
before the dog goes into quarantine. Otherwise, you might be surprised by the
cost.
If you ship the dog as cargo, the airlines go by a combination of space and
weight that the animal container takes up. Not JUST by the weight or size of
the animal, itself.
Your best sources of information on animal shipment and import into Japan are;
the Japanese Consulate in your area, your vet and freight forwarders,
preferably Japanese freight forwarders. The reason freight forwarders are good
to contact is that they, assuming they handle imports into Japan as well as
importds into your country (a good assumption, usually), either handle the
customs brokerage themselves or have an affiliation with a broker who does that
for them. They know all the regulations or can check them for you easily as
well as all of the proper procedures and red tape. No hassles from any petty
government offical, or problems with misunderstandings in a foreign language.
The dog suffers the most from such an ordeal. It is put in a cage, tossed
(depending on the size) into a cargo hold or luggage compartment in an
airplane, spends umpteen hours in that hold, is taken off the plane and put
into quarantine for two weeks. It understand nothing, just that you are
mistreating and neglecting it. One of my dogs, an AKITA (60 kilo), ate
practically nothing and lost almost twenty kilos in the ordeal. The other, a
Great Pyrenese (55 kilo), ate well and lost little weight. Both, however,
didn't trust me for about a month after their arrival. They assumed, whenever I
left the house, they wouldn't see me again. If I didn't love my dogs like
children, I would not have brought them with me. But, they are part of the
family and I couldn't bear to give them up. I personally know of two families
whose dogs died after being here only six months. The trauma was too much for
them.
A LITTLE EXTRA INPUT ABOUT DOGS IN JAPAN.
	- Leash law - dogs are not allowed to roam free.
	- You MUST obtain a license for the dog (check the local township where
you will be living).
	- There is very little space anywhere for excercise (at home they had
three quarters of an acre to run in. Here I have about 120 square feet (and
that is unusually large for Japan).
	- Places to board your pet if you plan on a trip and can't take the dog
with you; they are expensive and do not, generally, do a good job of caring for
your pet (Unless, of course, you are willing to offer extra, over and above
their fee). I am not saying the Japanese, in general, do not treat animals
well, they do, that is the OWNERS do. So-called 'pet hotels', however, are
nothing more than rows and stacks of cages, very small, and not very clean. I
speak from personal experience and from the advice of neighbors (Japanese), all
of whom own dogs.  After a couple of bad experiences with 'pet hotels', my
neighbors advised me to find a private 'sitter' for my dogs the next time.
Either have someone live in your house while you're away and take care of the
dog or find someone who is willing to take it into their home while you're
gone. And, regardless of whether you leave the country or not on a trip, there
will be times, most likely, when you will not be able to take the dog with you
where you go.
	- Dog food is expensive in Japan.

Goats - As I said, I know nothing about goat imports. You can be sure, though,
that there IS a quarantine period, assuming they allow you to import goats at
all. You should check with the Japanese Consulate nearest you. But, you also
need to consider what you're going to do with them when you get here.

Dave Spence
Newsgroups: sci.lang.japan