Exporting Animals and Animal Products
For information on taking your pets out of New Zealand, please refer to:
Search for requirements to take your pet overseas.
Animal Products
If you are a primary processor or exporter of animal products, including meat, processed game, seafood, dairy and honey, then you need to comply with the Animal Products Act 1999.
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority 
sets and administers food safety standards under this Act.
Exporters need to be registered for commercial exporting of live animals, animal germplasm and bees
Commercial exporters of live animals / livestock, animal germplasm (semen and embryos) and bees must be registered under the Animal Products Act. These applications are assessed according to requirements set out in section 54 of the Animal Products Act. An annual exporter fee is payable. Owners exporting their own animals for non-commercial reasons, such as owners of pet cats and dogs, are not required to be registered.
1. Apply to become a registered exporter with the NZ Food Safety Authority.
2. Pay the annual exporter registration fee.
3. Check if an Animal Welfare Export Certificate (AWEC) is required.
4. Check the Official Assurance Programme: Requirements for the export of live animals and germplasm which consolidates specifications, export requirements and directions that apply to official assurances issued under the Animal Products Act 1999.
5. Laboratories registered for export testing are being registered with MAF Biosecurity.
6. Exporters must make sure they comply with requirements of other government departments or international conventions associated with exporting commodities. For the export of Unwanted Organisms, exporters must ensure they comply with section 52 and/or 53 of the Biosecurity Act 1993.
- Department of Conservation
- NZ Customs Service
- Biosecurity Act 1993
- Customs Export Prohibition Orders for slaughter
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
- Convention on Biological Diversity
- Environment Risk Management Authority (ERMA)
Search for the export requirements and export certificate templates
Search for the export requirements and export certificate templates by entering an animal, commodity, country, or a combination of, to search.
Use an already registered exporter
You can choose to use the services of an already registered exporter:
List of registered exporters
In addition to the export certifications and AWEC's, the following standards apply for transporting livestock
- Livestock by Sea
- Transport Standards for Animals being Exported
- MAF Standard for the Transport of Cattle by Sea from New Zealand
- MAF Standard for the Transport of Deer by Sea from New Zealand
- MAF Standard for the Export of Horses from New Zealand by Sea
Non-Commercial exporting of live animals
Owners exporting live animals for non-commercial reasons, such as the owners of pet cats or dogs, are not required to be registered. For the requirements for taking your pets out of New Zealand, please refer to:
Page last updated: 13 January 2012