All types of fowl and birds are
prohibited in international mail. As information, day-old poultry or birds may be mailed only
as allowed in DMM 601.9.3.2
Perishables
Live Animals
Adult Fowl
Adult turkeys, guinea fowl,
doves, pigeons,
pheasants, partridges, and quail, as well as
ducks, geese, and swans, are mailable in domestic mail.
These types of birds must be sent via
Express Mail in
biologically-secure containers approved by the Business Mail
Acceptance Manager, USPS Headquarters, Washington, DC
The number of birds per mailpiece
must not exceed the limits of the container as specified
by the manufacturer and if each bird
must weigh more than 6 ounces.
Note:
Animals mailed into the Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands require a permit issued by the
Director of Agriculture of that Territory.
601.9.3.4
Adult Fowl
Adult chickens may be sent
by Express Mail.
The Express Mail containers used must also pass the standards in National Safe
Transit Association Test Procedure Project 1A, which are contained in Publication 2, Packaging
for Mailing (January 1998).
Mailing of chickens for fighting is
subject to 7 USC 2156.
addenda (3/9/2000):
Adult Chickens
DMM
601.9.3.11
adult
chickens may be mailed only in domestic mail when sent Express Mail. The containers
used to mail adult chickens must pass the standards in the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) Test Procedure
1A, which are contained in Publication 2, Packaging
for Mailing (January 1998). The
containers must be designed to remain intact during normal handling, be constructed (see to totally
confine the adult chickens, contain shavings or other material to prevent damage to the bottom of the container, and be
ventilated properly to insure humane treatment during transit. The number of adult birds per mailpiece must not exceed the
container manufacture's limit.
DMM update
Effective October 1, 1996
CO22.3.3 and CO22.3.4 are
amended to
permit the mailing of adult fowl by
Express Mail without the condition of available
next-day delivery as a requirement.
A mailer of adult fowl or chickens
must follow all
standards for packaging and marking described in
DMM CO22 and any applicable state
of federal
regulation for the transport of such live animals
by Express Mail.
Indemnity
Under the applicable standards, indemnity
for a mailpiece containing adult birds may be paid only for loss of, damage to, or
rifling of the parcel. Indemnity may not be paid for death of the adult birds during
transit if there is no visible damage to the container.
Arrangements
Post offices may ask customers to make
advance arrangements to ensure the availability of Express Mail service from the point
of origin to the point of destination, and to ensure that adequate postal and nonpostal equipment to handle the shipment is
available.
Acceptance
DMM
601.9.1
states that a mailpiece containing live animals that cannot reach it's destination in a viable
condition should not be accepted. Factors that can be taken into consideration
in assessing the viability of a mailpiece containing live animals include use of proper
packaging methods that protect against suffocation and crushing during transport, expected
time in transit, and very extreme weather conditions (i.e. outside of normal ranges). However, this provision does not extend
postal personnel the authority to refuse mailpieces containing live animals that are properly packaged or to impose
local blackout periods for reasons based on temperature conditions.
Please note:
The Postal Service's Traffic Control System is used to
advise destination and transfer offices when any significant quantities of animals
are moving through the mail. Postal field personnel should ensure that the duration
of ground transportation (via trucks) is limited to a four-hour time period.
Any mailpiece identified as
containing live birds must be handled with care and sensitivity by postal employees.
The
humane consideration of the ability of the live animals
