Good practices in shipping taxonomic specimens
Shipping of taxonomic specimens is subject to specific rules which relate to the nature of the specimens (e.g. are they CITES listed), the nature and the amount of the preservation agent, and the medium by which shipping is done. Rules also depend on the countries between which transport of taxonomic material is done.
International Air TRansport Association (IATA) wich applies to over 150 countries
IATA’s stated mission is to represent, lead and serve the airline industry. All the Airline rules and regulations are defined by IATA. The main aim of IATA is to provide safe and secure transportation to its passengers.
The current policy of IATA regarding the shipment of dead, preserved taxonomic specimens is that shippers can train themselves in packaging scientific specimens as preserved specimens are now exempt from dangerous goods status. This enables researchers and collections curators to ship specimens more easily, to more countries. The major air shipping companies (DHL, FedEx, and UPS) have indicated that they will accept packages that meet the A180 guidelines. Read the complete A180 guidelines here.
In order to qualify for the exemption, specimens, regardless of wether they are stored in ethanol, isopropanol or formalin. must be placed in three layers of heat-sealed bags and contain no more than 30ml of free fluid in the internal bag and solid container (1 liter total per package).
It is best to always add an explicative letter or MoU to the parcel. Note that it is very good practice to mention output from the loan (e.g. scientific publications) in the letter. An example here.
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service for shipment to Australia. (AQIS)
AQIS has developed specific conditions for different type of imports and has made their conditions searchable through an easy to use database. For dead and/or preserved/fixed invertebrates you can find the conditions here. Condition C18556 is the one that relates to invertebrate specimens that are preserved/fixed in a liquid solution (Apis spp explicitely excluded from these conditions). The main thing to be aware of is clausse 5 (All consignments must be imported in sealed containers and accompanied with a signed supplier/packers declaration stating what the specimen(s) is and how it was killed, prepared and preserved/fixed) and the related clausule 3 on the type of fixative. The amount of preservative is as with IATA regulations.
Packages should always contain a 'To Whom it concerns'. An example can be found here.
It is also important to note that specimens that are not accompagnied with a supplier/packers declaration (e.g. by FedEx), but that are exported from or imported to a recognised Scientific Institution may be released from quarantine following inspection of a quarantine officer. In such case you should always add the import permit of your destinee.
