We have been getting questions about our abilities to send hay directly to customers in countries other than the United States. Therefore, we set out to create a definitive list of which countries we can and cannot send our products to, you will find that list available in the table at the bottom of the page. Yet, before you skip ahead to the table, we want to cover some of the issues that may come up with shipping small pet food overseas.

1. What's the Problems With International Shipping?
2. How Do Countries Protect Themselves?
3. What if My Country Allows Shipments But Has Requirements?
4. What is The Process if My Country Does Allow Shipments?
5. What if I am A Distributor or An Importer?
6. Table of Current Distributors
7. List of Countries We Can Ship To and Their Requirements
8. List of Countries We Can't Ship To

Our small pet food comes in two main forms: Hay and Pellets. Pellets are much easier to ship overseas as they are highly processed, which means they pose less of a risk to the receiving countries’ agricultural standards. Hay on the other hand is a very natural product. We handle and process it as little as possible so you can receive the best hay. 

Many countries are protective of what plant products (hay is considered a plant product) can be imported. They are protective because plant products can be carriers of insects and seeds (both potentially invasive species), along with other contaminants which the country needs to protect itself and its agriculture from. 

There are three ways that countries protect themselves from plant products potentially contaminating their agricultural ecosystem. 

#1: The first way is that they do not allow plant products to enter their country. By not allowing any potential threats in they completely eliminate the threat of any issue. Oftentimes this method is limited to plants that are known to be problematic, but sometimes it’s simply all plants. When this is the case there is no way for us to import hay to that country. 

#2: Second, they require us to inspect or treat the hay to ensure that whatever they don’t want coming in won’t make it in. 

An inspection is an almost painless process due to our great relationship with the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and an impeccable warehouse environment. These inspections, called Phyto Certifications, cost $116.10 to conduct. This means for every shipment to countries that require a Phyto Certification, regardless of order size, you have to pay the $116.10 fee on top of the order and shipping prices. Which, we believe is way too much money to spend for a single box of hay. However, it’s not too much if we are shipping an entire container worth of product.

Treating the hay is a practice that we try to avoid at all costs. First, it requires poison to be pumped all over the hay for a period of time to kill anything that could be living in it. As you can imagine that would not be good for your pet. It is also expensive, a full container usually costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000 and there are no options to treat smaller quantities. Therefore, countries that require treatment are impossible for us to ship to. 

#3: Lastly, they require a permit or license to import goods. This allows them to qualify the recipient, the sender, and to monitor more closely what is coming in. We have assisted many distributors in getting these permits and making it possible for our products to be sold in their country. Generally, if an import permit is required it is not something that an individual buyer will be able to obtain and submit. 

It’s still possible to get you our hay! We are constantly looking for new distributors or importers that we can work with. In fact, we have found new distributors through people just like you! 

What Does That Process Look Like? 

You’ll want to contact your local pet store and ask them if they will carry our hay. If they say, “YES”, then you’ll want to build a good friendship with them as they will have homework to do. While many small pet stores cannot afford to bring in a full container of hay, most are working with distributors to stock their stores. You will want to ask them to contact their distributors or importers and request them to carry our hay. If all goes well, they will contact us and we’ll help them to get our hay into your country. 

We have done this in two different countries with great success. It was because a pet owner spent the time to talk to their local pet store that the Philippines and Malaysia both carry our hay!

If your country allows shipments, you can simply place your order directly on our website. Add the products to your cart, proceed to checkout, and follow the normal checkout process. We will ship your order as soon as it’s processed, and you will receive tracking information to monitor the delivery.

If you're a distributor or an importer, please send us an inquiry at support@rabbitholehay.com. We will be happy to provide more information and discuss how we can work together to fulfill your needs.