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Tessa.31

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2010
Messages
68
Hi there,
Well first off I would like to say that I dont want anyone to think i'm attacking them or being rude or disrespectful, this has honestly been on my mind for quite sometime. Well when i first started looking into getting a hedgie( also looking at chins) it seems that alot of breeders would ship their animals to you, now personally I dont believe in shipping an animal, they are not furniture,it also can't be good for them, on top of leaving their home, their on a plane for hours, probaly in the cold, and most airlanes arent usually concerned about the animals on a plane. I personally dont understand how you can ship an animal, like its furniture. What do you guys think?? Do you believe in shipping an animal?? Or do think thats wrong??
-Tessa
 
For me, I don't really have an opinion one way or the other. Though I will add that i'd rather have an animal shipped by plane than in the car for 10+ hours.
 
I am not sure about HH but I would be nervous to ship an animal or have it shipped. I prefer pick up. But sometimes that is not possible. No situation is ever Black or white
 
I don't really believe in shipping either and never would but I did have a boy shipped to me one time. I also had 3 rehomes come on a plane to me but their owner was on a business trip and she was on the plane with them. It depends on the airline too, how good shipping is. The 3 rehomes came West Jet and she said the treatment was wonderful.

When I was selling babies I wanted to meet the new owners so could never ship.
 
I personally would be nervous to have an animal shipped. I sort of feel that too much has to come together all at once... it's hard enough for some people to catch a plane on time... I will say that I don't know exactly how shipping a chinchilla works... but I assume you need a vet's statement of wellness, you need to drop the chin off and fill out paperwork, maybe get the chin to the boarding gate :hmm:, and then the chin somehow makes it to its destination and then the other person has to be there to get it... I would just be nervous until I knew for sure that the chin was safely with the other person (or safely with me).

If possible, I'd rather meet by car. Not like a 24 hour drive, mind you, but I think if you're buying chins from someone, say on the other side of the US, and it's worth it to you to ship them... I think it would be also worth it to MEET the person you're buying from. But maybe that's just me.
 
I've shipped animals many times. (birds not chins) A lot of factors come into play, like how long the flights are, delays, etc. I always shipped the most direct flights with minimal time. Even then the flights were 3 hours at most. There are airlines that do counter to counter service, where the animal is the first off the plane, and the last on. There are weather restrictions, as well as accommodation that must be met by certain airlines. A lot of prep does go into shipping but I've never lost an animal. I could also watch the progress of the flight online depending on what airline was used. I think if the care is taken that needs to be done, then there is nothing wrong with it. Yes it's nice to meet potential customers, but I've found that even then you can be lied to, and never know who your really dealing with!
 
From what I have read, most Airlines that do have the animal shipping option take really good care of the animals shipped. If I remember correctly it said that if the flight/transit time was longer than 3 hours a flight attendant had to go and check up on the animals and change food and water for every three hours after the first. Every three hours is a lot more than what most get at home. When its 1-2 times a day. Also animals with temperature requirements have those requirements met.
 
I think there are two facets involved here: (1) The safety, comfort, and potential stress of the hedgehog in transit, and (2) the possible unknown factor of the hedgehog going to an unsuitable caretaker. Due to allegations by so-called "animal rights" organizations that "thousands" of animals meet their death each year due to the mishandling of airlines, the US Dept. of Transportation initiated requirements that airlines report on the death, injury, or loss of animals, in detail, and in a public venue (I think this occured around 2004). I have reviewed these reports, and you can also by going to http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/atcr11.htm - and this will bring up the January 2011 report where the data is from November, 2010 (you can also review all prior months). The reports are issued monthly and have a 2 month delay. In some months, there are no animal fatalities reported. In November, 2010, five fatalities were reported - all dogs - three bulldogs, one pit bull, and one pug. Two reports from Delta, and one each from United, Continental, and Hawaiian. In each case, the animal is given a postmortem examination paid for by the airline. In the case of Continental, the one case was out of 6,725 animals shipped that month.

Here at our Rescue we have air shipped one hedgehog to a new home (in 1999)(just before our rescue stopped adopting out hedgehogs), and have received 38 via air freight. We have never experienced a mishap, except that one missed his flight in Seattle but managed to come in on the next flight. We do insist on one rule, and that is it must be a direct flight so that instructions can be given to the departing ground crew. All of ours come in to Denver, and the Denver air freight personnl are all aware of the temperature needs for hedgehogs. Indeed, it seems to me that the hedgehogs are less stressed in air freight than they are flying in the cabin because they have more room to move around (at least they seem less stressed when they arrive).

As for the second point, the one hedgehog we did outplace in 1999 went to a known, respected, and experienced hedgehog caretaker, under a special set of circumstances. I agree with Nancy that, were I to be a breeder, I would not place a hedgehog with a person/family that I had not met and had the opportunity to review their qualifications and commitment.

Best wishes, Z. G. Standing Bear
 
I do ship and quite like it in comparison to railroading a chinchilla or traveling by car for hours for them. I have had chins become stressed out when they were driven from Seattle to BC, for example. Shipping I find - as long as the animals are young and not too old - seems to not stress them out at all. The older chinchillas, I do find get stressed out easy and do prefer to not ship them.

The airlines do take good care of them usually. There is always going to be something go wrong once in a while (nothing is ever perfect or without fault in life.). Majority of the time, it goes smoothly. They are in temperature controlled areas and airlines won't allow them to be shipped if it is too hot or too cold at the destination or where they are flying out from. They put embargo on flights that are going to locations that are too warm or too cold.

And yes, the airline reps do have to check the animals ever so often. They give you a tag when you are shipping them, to put down when they were last fed and watered (as well they have water and food with them in the containers), when approx. they should be fed or watered again (in case they run out of food or water on the trip), etc..

I don't know how hedgehogs are for flying, but just from my observations, having shipped chinchillas to and from here for over ten years now. Depending on the airlines, the pets also can be shipped with you and in some cases are shipped in the cabin with the pilots too (have had that happen twice with one airline here.). Just depends on the airline.
 
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