The IATA Live Animals Regulations set the worldwide standard for moving animals on commercial aircraft. They define which species can travel, what container each one needs, what paperwork must accompany the shipment, and how handlers accept, load and monitor animals at every stage of the journey. Airlines, freight forwarders, ground handlers and shippers all work to the same document.
The regulations have governed live animal air transport for more than 50 years. IATA recorded close to 200,000 live animal shipments worldwide in 2024, an increase of 11 percent on 2019. The current edition took effect on 1 January 2026.
What Are the Live Animals Regulations?
The Live Animals Regulations, known across the industry as the LAR, are the standard published by IATA for transporting live animals by commercial airlines. They apply to every animal moved by air, from a household pet to day-old chicks, racehorses, laboratory animals and protected species.
Governments set and enforce the law on animal transport in their own territories. IATA does not. What IATA publishes is the operational standard that its member airlines are expected to follow, and that standard is what makes a shipment accepted or rejected at the cargo terminal.
The distinction matters in practice. A shipment can satisfy national import law and still be refused at acceptance because the container fails a LAR specification. Compliance runs on both tracks at once.
Who Publishes and Maintains the LAR?
IATA publishes the LAR and revises it annually. The content is shaped through the Live Animals and Perishables Board, which brings airline, veterinary and industry input into the standard, drawing on current animal welfare science.
Two external bodies sit alongside the LAR and are referenced throughout it. CITES governs international trade in endangered species. The World Organisation for Animal Health sets the international animal health recommendations that underpin much of the welfare guidance.
What Do the Live Animals Regulations Cover?
The LAR is organised into nine areas, each dealing with a different stage or responsibility in the transport chain.
The table below sets out what each area covers and who it primarily concerns.
| LAR area | What it covers | Primarily concerns |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier regulations | General carrier rules, variations by individual airline, airline contacts, AVI services | Shippers and forwarders |
| Reservations and advance arrangements | Schedules, routing, interline transfers, delivery, accompanying persons | Forwarders and shippers |
| Animal behaviour | Disturbance, segregation, sedation, euthanasia, in-flight environment | Handlers and airlines |
| Listing, description and species size | Taxonomy, alphabetical species list, descriptions and size classes | All parties |
| Documentation | Shipper’s certification, air waybill, captain notification, CITES papers, acceptance checklist | Shippers and forwarders |
| Container requirements | General specifications, stocking density, marking and labelling | Shippers and container suppliers |
| Handling | Acceptance, ground handling, loading, feeding and watering, captain’s advice, health and hygiene | Ground handlers and airlines |
| CITES | Documentation, participating states, management authorities, combating illegal trade | Shippers of protected species |
| Life science logistics | Health status, animal type and number, species and container considerations for laboratory animals | Research shippers and specialist forwarders |
Every live animal shipment touches most of these areas. A single missing document or an incorrect container class stops the shipment at acceptance, which is why the regulations are treated as a checklist rather than a reference.
Which Container Does an Animal Need?
Container requirements in the LAR are set by species, not by shipment, and they sit outside the standard ULD and air cargo container classes used for general freight. The regulations define container specifications by animal type, with rules on construction strength, ventilation, floor space, stocking density, and the marking and labelling applied to the outside.
Container requirement classes are referenced by number. A species is matched to a container requirement, and that requirement dictates the build of the crate. Using a container class intended for a different species is one of the most common causes of shipment rejection.
The 2026 edition strengthens several container provisions, including container strength, permitted animal densities, and requirements around brachycephalic breeds, the short-nosed dogs and cats whose airways make air transport higher risk.
Why Do Shipments Get Refused at Acceptance?
Shipments are refused at acceptance when the container, the documentation or the animal’s condition fails a LAR check. The acceptance checklist exists to catch these before the animal moves airside.
The recurring causes across the industry are:
- Applying a container class intended for a different species
- Inadequate ventilation openings or insufficient floor space for the animal inside
- Missing or incomplete shipper’s certification
- Absent CITES documentation on a protected species shipment
- Incorrect marking and labelling on the container exterior
- An animal presented in a condition unfit for travel
What Documentation Does a Live Animal Shipment Need?
A live animal shipment travels with the shipper’s certification for live animals, the air waybill, any health certification required by the destination, and CITES permits where the species is protected. The captain is notified separately that live animals are on board.
Destination requirements sit on top of this. Import licences, quarantine arrangements and health certification vary by country and by species, and the shipper carries responsibility for confirming them before booking.
IATA publishes acceptance checklists for cargo shipments, excess baggage and in-cabin carriage. Handlers work through these at the point of acceptance, and forwarders who complete them in advance have fewer shipments stopped.
What Is the Handling Code for Live Animal Shipments?
The handling code for live animals is AVI. It appears on the air waybill and on the shipment’s special handling requirements, and it signals to every party in the chain that the consignment needs live animal procedures rather than general cargo handling.
Who Is Responsible at Each Stage?
Responsibility passes along the chain, and the LAR defines where it sits at each point.
- The shipper confirms the species is acceptable for carriage, supplies a compliant container, completes the shipper’s certification, obtains health and CITES documentation, and presents an animal fit to travel
- The freight forwarder books with a carrier that accepts the species, confirms routing and any interline transfer, checks documentation before tender, and advises on destination requirements
- The airline publishes its own carrier variations, accepts or refuses the shipment, notifies the captain, and sets in-flight environmental conditions
- The ground handler carries out acceptance checks, houses animals in suitable conditions landside, monitors temperature and ventilation, and loads the shipment correctly
Carrier variations are the step most often missed. Individual airlines publish rules stricter than the LAR baseline, including breed restrictions and species they will not carry at all, and those variations override the general standard.
What Changed in the 2026 Edition?
The 2026 edition addresses compliance gaps that the industry had been reporting, rather than introducing an entirely new framework. The revision covers container strength, permitted animal densities, brachycephalic breed handling, and the transport of seafood.
Alongside the manual, IATA has moved parts of the compliance process into a digital portal, giving airlines, shippers and forwarders access to operator and destination-specific requirements, and allowing documents to be uploaded for airline verification before the animal is moved.
The direction of travel is clear. The LAR is being treated less as a reference manual and more as an enforced operational benchmark.
Questions About Live Animal Air Transport
Can you ship animals by air?
Yes. Animals are shipped by air routinely as cargo, as excess baggage and, for some cats and dogs, in the cabin. Acceptance depends on the species, the carrier’s own rules and the destination country’s import requirements.
How do you ship a live animal?
Confirm the species is accepted by the carrier and the destination, obtain a container meeting the LAR requirement for that species, complete the shipper’s certification and any health or CITES documentation, and book through a forwarder or airline that handles AVI shipments.
Which airlines carry live animals?
Most major cargo carriers accept live animals, but each publishes its own variations on species, breeds and routes. Carrier variations are listed in the LAR, and they override the general standard, so the airline’s own rules decide what can actually be booked.
Are some breeds banned from air transport?
Several carriers restrict or refuse brachycephalic breeds, the short-nosed dogs and cats whose airways make them more vulnerable in transit. The restriction is set by the individual airline rather than uniformly across the industry, and the 2026 edition strengthens the guidance around these breeds.
Do the Live Animals Regulations apply outside air transport?
The LAR is written for air transport, and it also includes guidance for the non-air legs of a journey, since an animal moving by road to or from the airport remains part of the same shipment.
