AN undercover reporter with Shenzhen Evening News disguised as a customer to visit several pet transport firms in the city, disclosing that many do not hold related licenses.

Transport of pets has become a hot topic after a golden retriever named Siri died during transportation from Guangzhou to Nanjing in July. The transport company sent the dog via a vehicle, rather than by air as agreed upon, resulting in the pet dying from heat stroke.

Many pet transport companies have sprouted due to a growing demand for pet shipping services. A total of 49 related enterprises in Shenzhen pop up in a search query on database platform Tianyancha.com.

Some online pet transport platforms claimed that they are agents for airports or airline companies. However, their websites show no business license or related information. It is even more difficult to find qualification information about these companies via search platforms.

Currently, there are three methods to ship pets: by plane, train or vehicle.

A business in Luohu District charges 1,200 yuan (US$185.73) to transport a chinchilla weighing 4 kilograms by plane. The price includes quarantine and transport fees.

When the reporter asked if a pet can be transported by plane without an official quarantine certificate, the business replied that in principle, unvaccinated pets are prohibited from planes, but they can produce the certificates via a “special channel.”

The reporter tried inquiring more about this, but the business refused, just promising they can allow unvaccinated pets to board a plane.

The business suggested that there will be no signed contracts or agreements and instead, they did not inform the reporter about hot weather travel risks and said that pet owners are responsible for any accidents during transport.

The reporter later consulted another pet transport firm in Longhua District. The firm said they could ship the pet by plane for 880 yuan (all fees included).

“The price is mainly linked to animals’ weight, not distance. Generally, the service price for pets weighing within 5 kilograms is around 800 yuan. For those more than 5 kilograms, the price is increased by 45 yuan per 1 kilogram,” said the firm.

When the reporter asked the firm whether they could show photos or videos when pets are on board, the firm said they cannot.

However, pets are not allowed in all bullet trains nationwide. Pets can only be taken on regular trains inside a box. For distances over 200 kilometers, pets should be escorted.

Small trucks and vans are also used to transport pets and quarantine certificates are not required. This means pets are likely to catch viruses from each other during transport. Customers should bear all consequences for this and service fee is around 600 yuan, according to the report.

(Wang Jingli)