Live Animals Regulations (LAR)

Order the LAR online

English, Spanish and French versions of the LAR are available in digital and print formats. If you are new to the LAR, all versions are updated annually. Digital products come with automatic updates for the year and a search function that makes finding current information easy. And, it's cheaper.

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What’s inside the LAR?

The LAR covers animal transport of all kinds and contains comprehensive information about the requirements for protected and endangered species as lab animals, livestock and domestic animals.

• Applicability (shipper and carrier responsibilities, training, combatting illegal trade)
• Government regulations (general and variations by country)
• Carrier regulations (general, variations by carrier, airline contact information and AVI services)
• Reservations and advance arrangements (schedules, routing, interline advance, delivery, accompanying persons)
• Animal behaviour (general, disturbance, segregation, sedation, euthanasia, in-flight environment)
• Listing, description and species size (taxonomy, alphabetical list, description and size)
• Documentation (shipper’s certification, waybill, captain notification, CITES documents, other documents, live animal acceptance checklist)
• Container requirements (general, stocking density, marking, labeling)
• Handling (animal acceptance, ground handling, loading, feeding and watering, captain’s advice, health and hygiene, OIE recommendations)
• CITES (general, documentation, list of states, management authorities by country, Article XI, combatting illegal trade)
• Life science logistics for lab animals (health status, animal type and number, species, and container considerations)

Stay up-to-date

Significant Changes and Amendments to the 50th edition (2024) of the IATA Live Animals Regulations (LAR) include:

Letter from Willie Walsh, IATA Director General

2 - State Variations

• Amendments to the State Variations of Canada.
• Amendments to the State Variations of Israel.
• Amendments to the State of the United States of America.

3 - Operator Variations

• Up to date State and Operator Variations ensure airlines and shippers are able to manage the transportation of live animals as efficiently as possible.

6 - Listing, Description and Sizes of Species

• Amendments to sections 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 to include new Common and Scientific names.
• Thorough review of species with CITES appendixes (6.2.1, 6.2.2).

7 - Documentation

• Amendments to section 7.6 to clarify and distinguish the IATA Live Animal Acceptance Checklist from the IATA In-Cabin Live Animal Acceptance Checklist.
• Update to Question 19 in the IATA Live Animal Acceptance Checklist to specify that marking is required for bites and stings that are poisonous and venomous
• Update to Question 21 in the IATA Live Animal Acceptance Checklist to ensure that the appropriate information pertaining to the administration of sedatives, tranquilizers or psychoactive drugs is received at acceptance

8 - Container Requirements

• Revision of the stocking density guidelines for pigs (8.2.2).
• Alignment of terminology on the use of welded wire mesh across various container requirements.
• Amendments to Container Requirement 3 for horses.

9 - Marking and Labeling

• Precision added to marking required on containers carrying animals which can inflict poisonous or venomous bites or stings

Glossary

• The Glossary replaces the previous Nomenclature and is now featured at the end of the manual.