Kochi: A 'pet cat' almost gave a sleepless night to the customs sleuths at Kochi airport the other day! A childless couple hailing from Alappuzha and currently settled in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia brought along with them their 'pet cat' when they came for a short vacation on Friday morning as they couldn't think of leaving it behind. However, they were shocked when the customs officials 'seized' and 'detained' the cat as pet import is not permitted at Kochi airport. The couple were misled by the Saudi Airlines by which they had arrived with the pet.
After the cat was seized, the customs sleuths allowed the couple to leave, but they were in no mood to part with their 'dear one.' "The man said the cat will not sleep without him and that he wanted to stay back with it in our office. We too couldn't take much risk because if anything happens to it, we will be answerable. Further, it was an expensive pet. Though his wife left, the man spent the whole night at the airport and left only after the cat was sent back to Jeddah the next day," customs sources said.
Since the mistake was on the part of the Saudi Airlines, the customs asked the airlines to bear the cost of the pet's 'return journey.' The man's brother received the cat at the Jeddah airport on Saturday itself. However, the couple had to spend Rs 5000 towards fine. "The import of pets is only allowed after production of required health certificate from the country of origin and examination by the animal quarantine office at the arrival airport. However, the Kochi airport does not have a quarantine office. The import of pets is allowed only at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad airports," said customs commissioner Sumit Kumar.
