>The topic of shipping gerbils has been hotly debated here in the past- >breeders ship through the US Postal Service and this IS illegal. The USPS >is not equipped to ship warm blooded animals and to give the package the >special handling it needs (i.e., not tossing the box, careful attention to >temperature). For every story of a gerbil who arrived safely, there is a >story of one who died during the trip. For legal reasons and fairness to >the animal, I would not advise this method of transporting the animals. >Jill To bring it up one more time. Shipping gerbils via the USPS is ILLEGAL. It is a Federal Felony. I discussed it with a ranking official of the USPS in Denver. Not all the employees or even the postmaster of the station may know that it's illegal, and may tell you that it's ok to do. Which it is not. If they accept animals they are aiding and abetting a felony, and the person who accepts the package as well as their boss (the post master) are also liable. Falsifying the contents (writing 'lizards' on it for example) means it is also a felony on top of the other felony. If you ship gerbils and anything happens or they otherwise open the package or it gets destroyed in shipping....the shipper is the one responsible. If you didn't put a full return address on the package, whoever owns the residence or has the lease for it; is the one liable. So if a minor ships a gerbil and it is caught, and they just put their address on it, then the parent, owner, or leaseholder is the one they will come after. If anything happens to the animal(s) in shipment then it is cruelty to animals charges as well. Nobody takes them truck freight as the conditions are so strict and the shippers don't want to deal with it unless you can fill the truck. No other shippers (ground) will take live animals. Air freight, there is one company that does cheaply (compared to the others, who use their services to ship cargo) and a shipment starts at $150! The restrictions are very strict, and if the animals escape the packing crate, the plane will be grounded, fumigated, and all the wiring has to be inspected and certified before it can go into the air, which I'm told is about 90-100 hours of grounded time and very expensive. I have done exactly one air freight shipment, triple packed, and had animals get through one layer of containment. There were also some suffocations despite the careful packing and 'air tunnels' built of mesh throughout the outer crate. The only feasible way so far to transport animals is by car, by people going that way. :( Deb R.
