Transit of animals and animal products originating in a third country
If animals and animal products originating from a third country are transited through Switzerland, certain requirements apply. Find out about what veterinary and customs regulations must be complied with and for which species certain transit rules apply.
Transit: the basics
For the transit of animals and animal products, the legislation differs depending on the type of consignment, origin and place of destination. The crucial factor is whether the consignment is from the EU or a third country, and whether after transit it is destined for an EU member state or a third country.
Other provisions apply to transits originating in the EU:
Transit of animals and animal products originating in the EU
Animal products include all products that are potential carriers of animal diseases. They include animal by-products and germinal products as well as foods that are (partly) of animal origin, such as cheese and meat.
More information on the regulations for foodstuffs:
Transit of foodstuffs originating in third countries
For transit, different control procedures apply in Switzerland and the EU depending on the consignment.
For the transit of protected species, the CITES regulations must be complied with.
More information:
General provisions
As soon as a border veterinary control is required at the airport in Zurich or Geneva, or at an EU border control post, the following rules apply:
The responsible border control post must be pre-notified of the consignment. For consignments of animals, the pre-notification must be carried out at least one business day before arrival, and for all other consignments on arrival at the latest.
If the party importing the consignment is domiciled in an EU member state, Iceland or Norway, the pre-notification is carried out in the electronic TRACES system.
More information:
In all other cases, page 1 of the manually completed CHED (Common Health Entry Document) can be used:
Cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and horses and poultry for slaughter may only be transited through Switzerland by rail or by air. Transit by road is prohibited for animal welfare reasons.
Transit by rail or by road
Consignments of animals or animal products originating from a third country that arrive in Switzerland or the EU and are continuing their journey by rail or road, are subject to a full check, regardless of the country of final destination. This includes a document and identity check and physical controls.
For Switzerland, the airports of Zurich and Geneva conduct the veterinary border controls in accordance with the applicable conditions governing imports.
More information:
Importing animals and animal products from third countries
A CHED (Common Health Entry Document) is issued to prove that this has taken place. This document must travel with the consignment until the final destination.
The general provisions on transit also apply.
Transit by air
Consignments of animal products from a third country that are landing in Switzerland or the EU and will remain at the airport for longer than 72 hours are subject to a document check.
A document check is performed for animals, provided they do not leave the aircraft. If the animals are unloaded, a full control is conducted. This measure does not apply to all categories of animals and depends on compliance with import conditions (Art. 61, ITEO-TC).
Consignments of live animals or animal products originating in a third country that land in Switzerland in order to fly on directly to another third country are subject to the provisions that apply in the country of destination. Transit is not allowed from third countries from which imports into Switzerland are banned for animal disease control reasons.
Here, too, the general provisions on transit apply.