Publication 52 - Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail > 5 Perishable Matter > 52 Animals > 523 Acceptance for Mailing
Mailpieces containing live animals that cannot reach its destination in a viable condition should not be accepted. Considerations for assessing viability include: those listed in 521.
This provision does not give Postal Service personnel the authority to refuse mailable animals that are properly packaged or to impose local black-out periods based on temperature conditions, heavy mail volumes, or similar conditions.
Acceptance personnel must have reasonable justification to refuse a mailpiece containing mailable animals. Before refusing such a mailpiece, acceptance personnel should consult with the manager, business mail entry at their district office, or with the Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC), as appropriate.
Animals mailed outside the continental United States to destinations such as Hawaii, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia may require a permit issued by the government of the destination (refer to the applicable Department of Agriculture and 641).
