Do you want to bring animal products to the Netherlands from abroad? There are rules for this. It matters whether you are travelling within the European Union (EU) or coming from outside the EU. Examples of animal products are meat, dairy products, eggs or leather.
List of animal products
Examples of animal products:
- Cheese
- Milk and milk products
- Eggs
- Meat
- Fresh or processed fish products
- Skins/hides
Bringing animal products to the Netherlands from the EU
You may bring animal products such as meat or dairy products from other EU countries to the Netherlands if you want to use them yourself.
If you do not want to use the animal products yourself or want to resell them, there are conditions for the import of animal products.
Bringing animal products to the Netherlands from outside the EU
There are strict requirements if you want to bring animal products and food to the Netherlands from outside the EU. For example, you will almost always need a health certificate.
Apply for a health certificate from the authorities in the country from which you want to bring the products. Ask the Dutch embassy in your country who you need to contact for this.
A health certificate gives information about what you are bringing, such as:
- a description of the type of animal products
- the weight
- the country of origin of the animal product
- the EU country of destination of the animal product
As a general rule, you will need a health certificate. However, there are exceptions. You can find a list of animal products for which you do not need a health certificate on the Dutch Customs website.
Rules on protected animal products
You may not bring endangered species protected by the CITES Convention to the Netherlands from outside the EU without the correct permits. This is also true for parts and products of endangered species.
For example, have you bought a snakeskin belt at a market abroad? Or have you found a piece of coral abroad? Before bringing it to the Netherlands, check the RVO website to see what the rules are and what documents you need. There are products that you may not bring to the Netherlands at all, such as a bracelet made of elephant ivory.
There may also be stricter rules in the country you are visiting. In some cases, you may not export the product from that country even if there is no EU import ban. This is true, for example, for certain products made from protected species found on Bonaire.
In the EU, there are also rules governing the most endangered species. You will need CITES EU certificates for animal products made from these species.
Laws and regulations
European Animal Health Regulation (EU) 2016/429, Article 143
Besluit dierlijke producten (in Dutch)
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Last updated on 24 July 2024