Your July 2025 Newsletter

July 2025

Kia Ora

We know that for many relocating families, pets aren’t just animals – they’re family. And just like any other member of the household, they need care, planning, and support to make the move to Aotearoa a smooth one.

New Zealand welcomes thousands of cats and dogs each year, but as an island nation with a unique ecosystem and strict biosecurity controls, the process of bringing in pets is a bit more complex than in other countries.

In this issue, we’ve highlighted the key things you need to know about pet relocation and have provided some behind-the-scenes insights to help you (and your furry companions) prepare.

Also in this issue:

Making corporate relocations work better – from driving risks to pre-start timing

King’s Birthday Weekend – what it means and why Kiwis celebrate in June

Kiwi phrase of the month: Bit of a dag? It’s a compliment!

Bringing Pets to NZ

For many people pets are a member of the family, and you wouldn’t consider moving to a country without them.

Many New Zealanders have pets, particularly cats and dogs. Dogs are well catered for in urban areas with off-leash dog parks and there is good quality veterinary care widely available.

Being an island, New Zealand has a unique environment with many native animals found nowhere else in the world, including the iconic kiwi, and an economy that relies heavily on farming. Protecting these natural assets from disease and pests is a high priority. For this reason, the government maintains quite strict requirements for animals relocating into New Zealand.

Pets will need to be free of certain diseases, which means a battery of tests and vaccinations in your home country, and most also face a period of quarantine when they arrive in New Zealand. The quarantine facility is where your pet will be cared for while biosecurity checks are carried out. Staff monitor their health, ensure all paperwork is in order, and make sure there’s no risk of disease entering New Zealand.

Once the quarantine period is over and your pet has been cleared by MPI, you will be reunited with your furry friends and they can join you in their new home in New Zealand they can be released to join you in your new home!

The pet experience of travel to NZ

Understandably, many of our clients feel very anxious not knowing exactly where their pets will be during the time they are apart.

While we can’t get on the plane with pet travellers, our Principal, Bridget Romanes, recently made two behind-the-scenes visits in Los Angeles and Auckland to check out some of the facilities that care for our clients’ pets during their journey to New Zealand.

Here’s her report:

Many of our clients' pets depart the US via the Los Angeles facility of our long time pet transport partner, Jetpet.

I was lucky enough to be shown around the complex and meet a few of the animals on their way to new homes across the globe.

Generally owners are responsible for most of the vaccinations and vet checks in the days prior to departure. Then your pets enter the transporter’s facility for the final veterinary checks before they board their flights. If you are local, owners can drop their pets at Jetpet in person, and bid them farewell.

I saw various types of accommodation available from simple rooms or kennels right through to ‘living rooms’ complete with human beds and sofas so pets feel right at home. If you have two animals travelling together they can stay in the same room/kennel.

The veterinarians come to Jetpet’s own clinic to check the pets, then they enter their crates and are transported in Jetpet’s air conditioned vans to the airport to board their plane.

Below are some pictures of various parts of this process, from the farewell photowall where you take a goodbye picture with your pet through to the boarding facilities, crates and airport transport.

At the New Zealand end of the plane trip, your pet will be collected by the staff from the quarantine facility where they are booked to stay.

I was able to visit Pethaven Quarantine near Auckland . The facility is really just like a kennel or cattery, with the animals strictly separated to avoid the spread of diseases. All the bedding and toys used by the travelling pets during their time in quarantine must be destroyed.

Ministry for Primary Industry (MPI) veterinarians visit and test/check each pet twice during their stay to ensure they are disease free.

Here are answers to some of the questions I'm commonly asked about what it will be like for pets in quarantine:

🐶 Unfortunately the risk of disease transmission means owners can't visit their pets in quarantine but owners receive regular updates

🐾 Dog or cat 'families' can room together

🐱 Peak times are August-February so do book ahead!

Although pets need to remain in their sleeping area and run, I was impressed with the environment and obvious concern for the pets.

The sleeping areas have heat lamps to keep the animals cosy, and Pethaven is set in a lovely country area with plenty of fresh air and a great rural outlook for the animals.

King’s Birthday Weekend

If you’re new to New Zealand, you might be wondering what exactly we’re celebrating on King’s Birthday Weekend. It’s actually a public holiday that rolls around each June.

Although King Charles’ actual birthday is in November, New Zealand (like several other Commonwealth countries) marks the monarch’s birthday on the first Monday in June each year.

As New Zealand’s head of state, King Charles is still recognised in this ceremonial way.