The Canadian Rules for Moving a Bird That Nobody Quotes: Health of Animals Regulations, Part XII

The Health of Animals Regulations, Part XII, governs how you’re allowed to move a bird in Canada — by car, by air, across a border or just across town — and it binds an ordinary owner driving their own bird in a family car, not only commercial haulers. Most of what it requires is what a careful owner already does. This page walks through the actual sections.

This article is information only. It explains what the law says; it is not legal, customs or immigration advice, and Bird Sitting Toronto does not file permits, complete applications, or liaise with CFIA, CBSA or any other agency on a client’s behalf. If your situation is unusual, the contact list at the bottom of this page is where to ask.

Part XII applies to your car, not just to trucks

Section 137 of the Regulations states plainly: “This Part applies to the transport of animals entering or leaving Canada or within Canada.” There’s no carve-out for pets, no carve-out for private transport, and no carve-out for a non-commercial trip. If you drive your own cockatiel to a border crossing, or to the vet, or to Pearson, you are inside Part XII the whole way.

That’s worth pausing on because a lot of Part XII’s other duties — record-keeping, in particular — are written to bind only commercial carriers. Sections 138.1, 138.2, 152 and 154 all say so explicitly, limiting themselves to “a commercial carrier or a person transporting animals in the course of business or for financial benefit.” Section 137 says nothing of the kind. When a regulation carves out an exception in four places and leaves the general rule silent, that silence is deliberate. A private owner is fully inside Part XII’s conduct rules and outside its paperwork rules.

What you don’t have to do

Because s.154 and the record-keeping duty in s.152 are limited to commercial carriers, a family moving its own bird isn’t required to keep a shipment record — no log of loading time and place, no note of registration numbers, no written record of when the bird was last fed, watered and rested. Those obligations exist, but they belong to whoever runs the truck or the cargo hold, not to you.

Requirement	Applies to a private owner driving their own bird?	Applies to a commercial carrier?
Container meets size, ventilation, escape-proofing and signage rules (s.150) — road transport only; s.150(2) takes aircraft containers out of these rules and substitutes the IATA standard	Yes	Yes
Container secured to the vehicle (s.150(4))	Yes	Yes
Feed, water, rest and monitoring duties (s.152.1)	Yes	Yes
Written shipment record — shipper/consignee, floor area, cleaning, last feed/water/rest time (s.154)	No	Yes
Determining the date, time and place the animal was last fed, watered and rested (s.152)	No	Yes
Reporting serious injury or death in transit from Canada by air or sea (s.155)	N/A — applies to the carrier	Yes

The carrier itself: size, visibility and being strapped in

Section 147(1)(b) sets the size test for a bird’s travel carrier, and it’s easy to confuse with the rule for larger animals if you skim it. Livestock and ratites are covered by s.147(1)(a), which requires enough room to stand with the head elevated. A bird falls under s.147(1)(b) instead: a squatting or sitting posture, with the head able to move freely without touching the top of the container. Don’t apply the standing test to a bird carrier — it’s the wrong subsection.

Section 150(1) then sets out the general condition rules: the container has to suit the species, prevent escape, provide adequate ventilation, have a floor that won’t let the animal slip, not be at risk of collapsing, have no exposed bolts or sharp projections, no loose objects inside, no insecure fittings, and be able to be cleaned. Paragraph (j) adds a specific one: either the bird has to be visible from outside the container, or two of the outer sides need a clearly visible live-animal sign and a sign showing which way is up.

The rule most people miss is s.150(4): the container must be secured to the vehicle so that it can’t move during transport. An unbelted carrier sliding around on a back seat doesn’t meet that standard. The fix is exactly what it sounds like — a seatbelt through the carrier handle, or a footwell wedge that stops it shifting under braking.

Exhaust, the dog, and what’s riding next to your bird

Section 146.1 names “exhaust from the conveyance” specifically as something an animal must be protected from — so a carrier positioned near a tailpipe vent or in a poorly ventilated trunk is a problem the Regulations anticipated by name, not a grey area. Section 149 requires incompatible animals to be isolated from each other during transport. In practice, that’s the rule that means your bird and your dog don’t ride loose together in the same space — the bird needs to be somewhere the dog can’t reach it, startle it, or knock its carrier around.

How you’re allowed to pick your bird up

Section 144(1)(f) prohibits lifting or carrying an animal by its feathers, head, neck, or — the one people don’t expect — by one wing. It’s a small provision, but if you’re loading a carrier in a hurry it’s worth having in mind: hands under the body, never a grab by a wing.

Food, water and rest — and why “36 hours” is not a green light

Section 152.1(1) requires that anyone loading, confining or transporting an animal provide feed appropriate to its species, age and condition in amounts sufficient to prevent a nutritional deficit, water sufficient to prevent dehydration, and appropriate rest, and s.152.1(2) requires that the animal be monitored on a regular basis throughout. Section 152.2(1) then sets outer limits on the interval between feed, water and rest: 12 hours for any compromised animal, shorter intervals for broiler chickens, spent laying hens and rabbits, 28 hours for equines and porcines, and 36 hours for every other animal — the paragraph a pet parrot falls into by default.

Read that 36-hour figure as a ceiling, never as a schedule. The sufficiency duty in s.152.1 binds independently, and for a small bird it’s the number that actually matters: a budgie’s daily food intake is a large fraction of its body weight, and going anywhere near 36 hours without food would kill it long before the outer legal limit was reached. The law sets a maximum a commercial poultry shipment might legally reach; it does not describe what’s safe for a companion bird, and you should never plan a trip around it.

If your bird gets wet before you leave

This one is worth reading carefully. Section 136(1)(k) defines “compromised” to include, among other things, “is a wet bird” — full stop, no further qualifier. Once a bird is wet, it has changed legal category under these Regulations, whether it’s your budgie or a truckload of poultry.

Section 140(1) says a compromised animal can’t be loaded, confined or transported unless it’s isolated, individually loaded, protected by measures necessary to prevent suffering, injury or death, and transported directly to the nearest place it can receive care or be humanely killed. Section 140(2) lifts the isolation and individual-loading requirements for rabbits and poultry confined in containers — but it does not lift the requirement to go directly to the nearest place of care. Taken on its face, a bird splashed by a spilled water dish at a rest stop would trigger a duty to head to the nearest veterinary care rather than continue the trip, which reads oddly applied to a companion parrot and looks written with a commercial poultry load — where a wet bird can chill and die in transit — in mind. We can’t confirm how CFIA expects this applied to a family car with one pet bird in it, and this is exactly the kind of question worth putting to CFIA directly rather than guessing at. The practical answer that avoids the question entirely: dry your bird thoroughly before you load the carrier. It’s also worth knowing that a compromised bird’s feed-water-rest interval drops from 36 hours to 12 under s.152.2(1)(a), on top of everything else.

An unfit bird may not be transported at all

Section 139(1) prohibits loading, confining or transporting an animal that is unfit. The definition of “unfit” in s.136(1) includes laboured breathing, being extremely thin, showing signs of dehydration, showing signs of hypothermia or hyperthermia, showing signs of a fever, showing signs of exhaustion, and a catch-all for any other sign of infirmity, illness or injury indicating the animal can’t be transported without suffering. Owners of sick birds will recognise several of those on sight.

The only exception is s.139(2): transport for veterinary care, on a veterinarian’s recommendation, with the animal isolated and protected by measures to prevent suffering. If a bird becomes unfit partway through a trip, s.139(4) requires reasonable measures as soon as possible and transport directly to the nearest place it can receive care. “We’ll fly and get it looked at when we land” is not a lawful plan under this section — if your bird is showing any of these signs the week of travel, the legal move is a vet visit before departure, not after.

Flying is a different rulebook, not an extra one

Air transport isn’t layered on top of the general container and overcrowding rules — it replaces them. Section 150(2) excludes aircraft containers from the general container conditions in s.150(1), and s.148 excludes them from the general overcrowding rule the same way. In their place, s.150(5) requires that a container used for air transport meet the design and construction requirements of the IATA Live Animals Regulations, and s.148.1 requires it to meet that same document’s stocking-density guidelines.

That makes the IATA crate standard Canadian federal law for a flight, not merely an airline’s house preference — a distinction most pet-travel advice gets backwards. There’s a genuine wrinkle to flag: the Regulations name “the Live Animals Regulations, 44th edition, published by the International Air Transport Association, as amended from time to time.” IATA has published newer editions since. Because the incorporation is “as amended from time to time,” which text actually binds on your travel date isn’t something the Regulations themselves resolve — that’s a question for CFIA or your airline before you buy a crate, not an assumption to make either way.

If you’re weighing whether to drive or fly a bird across the border, Taking Your Bird from Canada to the United States: Driving vs Flying covers that comparison directly.

If something goes wrong in cargo

Section 155 gives owners one accountability mechanism worth knowing about: every air carrier and sea carrier that transports an animal from Canada must, as soon as possible after arrival, send a document to the veterinary inspector at the port of embarkation reporting every animal seriously injured, killed, or that died during transport, stating the cause in each case. It’s a duty on the carrier, not something you file — but it’s the record that exists if a flight goes badly.

Exporting a bird: why “poultry” means your parrot

One definition decides more of this than anything else. The Health of Animals Regulations define “poultry” as “domestic fowl and pigeons and includes any bird that is in captivity.” A pet parrot in a cage meets that definition. By contrast, “livestock” is defined narrowly — bovine, caprine, equine, ovine and porcine species only — so a bird is never livestock under these Regulations. It’s poultry, and that’s the category that determines which sections of the Regulations govern it on the way out of the country.

Section 69(1), in the exportation part of the Regulations, says no person shall export livestock or poultry unless they have provided a veterinary inspector or accredited veterinarian with evidence the animal meets the importing country’s sanitary requirements, obtained a certificate confirming inspection and freedom from communicable disease along with the date, place and any required test results, and provided information showing how the transport requirements of Parts XII and XV will be met. Section 69(3) requires that certificate to carry the official export stamp reading “Government of Canada — Canadian Food Inspection Agency,” applied only by a veterinary inspector or someone they’ve authorised.

Closing the loop on “be ready to show if asked”

That last piece of s.69(1)(c) — showing how Parts XII and XV will be met — is easy to over-read as a duty to file a transport plan before you export a bird. The text doesn’t say that. It requires an exporter to have provided “any requested information or documentation,” and it applies “as applicable.” Both qualifiers matter: the duty is triggered by a specific request from a veterinary inspector, and it only bites where a given Part actually applies to the animal in question. Nothing is owed unless something is asked.

And here’s where “as applicable” does real work for a bird specifically: Part XV can’t apply to one at all. Section 172(1), which opens Part XV, states “the definitions in this section apply in this Part” and then defines “animal” to mean “a bison, bovine, ovine or pig.” The words bird, poultry and chicken appear nowhere in Part XV. It’s worth knowing this is the only place in the entire Regulations that “animal” is defined this narrowly — a text search for “animal means” turns it up and it looks like it applies everywhere, but by its own opening words it’s confined to Part XV alone. For a bird, that limb of s.69(1)(c) is empty; the substance of the obligation is Part XII, and Part XII binds you directly under s.137 whether or not any inspector ever asks a question.

For what it means to actually bring a bird into Canada in the first place — certificates, declarations, ports of entry — see Importing a Pet Bird to Canada: The Complete CFIA Guide (2026).

What Part XII can’t do for you

None of this changes what happens if a bird is refused entry into Canada rather than delayed on the way out. That’s a different problem with a different remedy, and boarding doesn’t touch it — a refused bird has to leave the country, not be housed inside it. Where boarding genuinely helps is narrower and worth stating exactly: the bird is already here in Canada and the owner’s departure has got ahead of the bird’s paperwork — a destination permit still pending, an export certificate not yet endorsed, a start date that will not move. The bird needs somewhere to live in the meantime. That is a scheduling gap, not a regulatory remedy: boarding buys time for paperwork to catch up, and it cannot make a refused application succeed. If you’re weighing whether to leave a bird behind entirely, Moving Abroad and You Can’t Take Your Bird: Board, Rehome, or Wait lays out the options.

Frequently asked questions

Does Part XII of the Health of Animals Regulations apply to me if I’m just driving my own bird to the vet or across a border?

Yes. Section 137 applies to transport of animals within Canada and across its borders with no exemption for pets or private, non-commercial trips. The record-keeping duties in ss.152 and 154 are the ones limited to commercial carriers — the conduct rules in the rest of Part XII bind you regardless.

What size does my bird’s carrier legally need to be?

Section 147(1)(b) requires enough space for the bird to squat or sit with its head able to move freely, clear of the top of the container. That’s a different, lower test than the stand-with-head-elevated rule in s.147(1)(a), which is written for livestock, cervids, camelids and ratites.

Do I need to keep a written record of when I fed and watered my bird during the trip?

No. Sections 152 and 154 limit that record-keeping duty to commercial carriers and people transporting animals for business or financial benefit. You still have to actually feed, water and rest the bird adequately under s.152.1 — you just don’t have to document it.

Is 36 hours really how long a bird can go without food or water?

No — that’s an outer legal ceiling under s.152.2(1) for species not separately listed, not a safe interval. The independent sufficiency duty in s.152.1 requires enough food and water to prevent a nutritional deficit or dehydration, and for a small parrot that requirement binds long before 36 hours would be reached.

My bird got splashed with water right before we were about to leave — can I still transport it?

Section 136(1)(k) defines a wet bird as a “compromised” animal, which changes what’s required under s.140. We can’t confirm exactly how CFIA expects that applied to a single pet bird in a family car rather than a commercial poultry load, so that’s worth asking CFIA directly if it happens. The straightforward fix is to dry the bird thoroughly before loading the carrier in the first place.

Can I fly with a sick bird and get it seen by a vet after I land?

No. Section 139(1) prohibits transporting an unfit animal — a definition that includes laboured breathing, extreme thinness, dehydration, hypothermia, hyperthermia, fever and exhaustion. The only exception is transport for veterinary care on a veterinarian’s recommendation. A sick bird needs to see a vet before travel, not after.

Is the IATA crate standard just an airline policy, or is it actually Canadian law?

It’s Canadian law for a flight. Sections 150(5) and 148.1 substitute the IATA Live Animals Regulations’ design, construction and stocking-density standards in place of the general container rules for any animal transported by air. The Regulations name the 44th edition specifically, and since IATA has published later editions, it’s worth confirming with CFIA or your airline which edition applies on your travel date.

Do I have to submit a transport plan to CFIA before exporting my bird?

No, not unless a veterinary inspector specifically asks for one. Section 69(1)(c) requires an exporter to provide requested information showing how Part XII (and, where applicable, Part XV) will be met — but the duty is triggered by a request, and Part XV doesn’t apply to a bird at all, since its own definition of “animal” is limited to bison, bovine, ovine and pig.

If permits or scheduling mean your bird needs somewhere stable to stay for weeks or months while things get sorted, that’s boarding, and it’s what we do — see our booking page for a quote. For boarding specifically built around longer relocation timelines, Long-Term Bird Boarding While You Relocate: 30, 60 and 90+ Days covers what that looks like.

Related guides in this series

• Moving Abroad and You Can’t Take Your Bird: Board, Rehome, or Wait
• Importing a Pet Bird to Canada: The Complete CFIA Guide (2026)
• Long-Term Bird Boarding While You Relocate: 30, 60 and 90+ Days
• Taking Your Bird from Canada to the United States: Driving vs Flying
• Does Your Bird Need a US Import Permit, Health Certificate or Quarantine? (From Canada, Usually None of Them)
• Does Your Bird Need a CFIA Export Certificate to Leave Canada? (Not for the US — Here Is Why)

Who to call before you travel

Confirm every requirement below with the agency itself. These are the people who
can actually authorise your bird’s movement — we cannot.

Every number below was checked against the agency’s own website on
27 July 2026. Government phone numbers and web pages still change without notice.
If one does not connect, find the agency through its own official site rather than trusting
what is printed here.

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) — import and export of live
  birds, health certificates, permits: 1-800-442-2342 from
  Canada and the US, or 1-613-773-2342 local and
  international, 8 am to 7 pm EST Monday to Friday except holidays. CFIA names
  services related to travelling with pets as something its area offices handle —
  for the GTA that is the Mississauga animal health office,
  289-247-4100, 8 am to 4 pm
  · inspection.canada.ca
• Environment and Climate Change Canada — CITES permitting — export and
  import permits for CITES-listed species, and what documents exist for repeat crossings:
  1-855-869-8670
  · cites@ec.gc.ca
• Canada Border Services Agency — what happens at the border itself,
  declarations and inspection fees: 1-800-461-9999, Monday to
  Friday 8 am to 4 pm local time. Press 0 to reach an agent; CBSA’s published
  service standard is to answer within 20 minutes
• USDA APHIS — the US pet-travel hub, with separate paths for import,
  export and interstate movement, and the list of which birds count as pets at all:
  aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel
• US Fish & Wildlife Service — CITES and Wild Bird Conservation Act
  permits, applied for through the ePermits portal at
  fws.gov/permits. The agency
  contact centre is 1-800-344-9453
  · info@fws.gov

What we can and cannot help with

We cannot help with paperwork. Bird Sitting Toronto is a bird
boarding and care business. We are not a customs broker, an immigration consultant, a
veterinary practice or a legal adviser. We do not file permits, complete applications or
deal with any agency on your behalf, and we cannot guarantee any outcome at any border.
Everything on this page is information only.

There are two things we can do. If your bird cannot travel with you
— because the paperwork is still in progress, the airline will not carry it, or the
timing simply does not work — we can board
your bird in the GTA for as long as you need, including by the month. And if it
becomes clear the bird genuinely cannot come with you, we can help you
rehome it to a good home rather
than leaving you to sort that out alone.

We publish this guide because our boarding clients ask us about it constantly, and
because the answer is genuinely hard to assemble from the primary sources.