New World screwworm (NWS) continues to change the way animals are moving.

We are seeing requirements affect international travel, interstate movement, commercial air transportation, shelters and rescue organizations. Airlines may also play an important role in verifying required documentation before accepting an animal for transportation.

But there is another part of the journey that deserves our attention:
Domestic ground transportation.
Dogs and cats travel every day by car, van, rescue transport and other private vehicles. They may cross several state lines without encountering the structured compliance checkpoints that can exist with international travel or commercial aviation.
The animal-health requirements may still apply.
The verification checkpoint may not be there.

That concerns me—not because pet owners, shelters or rescue organizations are intentionally doing something wrong, but because animal-health requirements can change quickly. People may simply not know that a new requirement applies to their journey.
The same applies to animals traveling aboard private aircraft or charter flights. Avoiding a commercial airline does not necessarily mean avoiding animal-health or movement requirements.

This is where veterinarians have an important role.
Our responsibility in pet travel extends beyond signing the health certificate.
During an animal-health emergency, we also need to consider:
Where has this animal been? Where is the animal going? What happens along the route? And what biosecurity requirements apply to that movement?

NWS is reminding us that the movement of an animal can itself become part of a disease pathway.

An animal may appear healthy and still have a travel history, wound, exposure or other risk factor that matters from a biosecurity standpoint.
That means compliance and animal welfare have to travel together.
For veterinarians, pet owners, shelters, rescue organizations, ground transporters, airlines and private aviation operators, understanding changing animal-health requirements before movement begins is increasingly important.

We cannot evaluate only the origin and destination. We have to evaluate the journey.
That's why I believe we need to think more broadly about:
Companion-Animal Transportation During Animal-Health Emergencies: A Veterinary Biosecurity and Operational Readiness Framework

The entire transportation pathway matters:
Veterinary assessment → owner/shipper preparation → documentation → ground transportation → airport/airline or private aviation → transit → arrival → post-travel monitoring

Each step represents an opportunity to protect animal health—or unintentionally allow disease risk to move with the animal.
A health certificate remains an important part of compliant animal movement.
But biosecurity requires us to look beyond the certificate and understand the journey the animal is actually taking.

Our goal should be to help animals move safely, responsibly and in compliance with applicable requirements while protecting animal health and welfare throughout the journey.

Safe Pet Travel Starts With Us.

Nelva J. Bryant, DVM, MPH
When Pets Fly® | Veterinary Air-Travel Medicine™
www.whenpets.com
whenpetsfly@gmail.com