[nancy03743]

My husband & I were driving across the Florida border hauling a 6 foot by 10 foot trailer of our furniture headed for Allaire Loop in Fernandina. We were towing the trailer with our Toyota Tacoma truck. I was driving & a cop pulled in behind me & after trailing me, turned on his lights to pull me over. I stopped & he was a law enforcement officer for the department of agriculture. Turns out we were supposed to stop at the agriculture inspection station. They are looking for plants & animals that people bring over the border. He gave me a warning & said it would not be on my driving record. He was very nice & Richard asked him if he sent me to prison could he take the dog too. I didn't think that was very funny. ha ha ha Anyway, just letting you all know so you don't get stopped. The funny thing was we have brought 2 loads down and this was the first time we got stopped but I didn't tell him that. Nancy

[jpharmat]

That's good to know! It would have never crossed my mind. Thanks for the heads up.

[Trayderjoe]

Originally Posted by nancy03743

My husband & I were driving across the Florida border hauling a 6 foot by 10 foot trailer of our furniture headed for Allaire Loop in Fernandina. We were towing the trailer with our Toyota Tacoma truck. I was driving & a cop pulled in behind me & after trailing me, turned on his lights to pull me over. I stopped & he was a law enforcement officer for the department of agriculture. Turns out we were supposed to stop at the agriculture inspection station. They are looking for plants & animals that people bring over the border. He gave me a warning & said it would not be on my driving record. He was very nice & Richard asked him if he sent me to prison could he take the dog too. I didn't think that was very funny. ha ha ha Anyway, just letting you all know so you don't get stopped. The funny thing was we have brought 2 loads down and this was the first time we got stopped but I didn't tell him that. Nancy

Thanks for posting this tip. I have to admit that I might not have thought of the need to pull into the agriculture inspection station if all I had was non-plant items and no pets (other than the dog!).

[njbchbum]

were you pulled over because of the out-of-state tags and the dog or did the l.e.o. tell you that you had to have the trailer checked for suspect plants?

[Patty55]

I know people who were pulled over there when they were pulling a horse trailer with furniture in it.

[gmcneill]

I'm thinking that the negative impact of exotic plants and animals (Burmese pythons, for one example) on the Florida habitat makes such inspections a vitally necessary inconvenience. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Virtual Geezer]

I have heard a number of horror stories about guys with enclosed race car trailers getting stopped for bypassing the agriculture station and then others getting yelled at for stopping. A no win situation regardless of what you do. It is a wonder just "really" are they looking for?

VG

[Blessed2BNTV]

There is a form and fee that you can get from your vet for your pet. We were taking our cat to TV and was informed by our vet the fee was $30 to transport over state lines.

Don't ask us if we paid the fee......the cat did come with us.

[l2ridehd]

I came down with a 17 foot U-haul truck once and pulled in there to that check point and got yelled at for stopping. Told me it was really only for tractor trailers. Go figure.

Since then I brought 2 trailers behind my Tacoma, 3 truck loads no trailer, and a 15 foot U-haul and never stopped there again.

[bkcunningham1]

I have to admit that I've never noticed an agriculture station and I've traveled in and out of Florida many, many times.

I've never heard of having to have a form to bring a cat or a dog across a state line either. I'm going to have to start paying better attention.

Bureau of Uniform Services Locations, AgLaw - FDACS

[bike42]

There is a sign before the station that says all trucks and vehicles pulling any kind of trailer are supposed to stop for agricultural inspection.

[travelguy]

I brought my cat over the border in 2009 and did not stop at the inspection station. I hope that she won't be deported. Maybe we can apply for Immigrant Amnesty!

[SouthOfTheBorder]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

I came down with a 17 foot U-haul truck once and pulled in there to that check point and got yelled at for stopping. Told me it was really only for tractor trailers. Go figure.

Since then I brought 2 trailers behind my Tacoma, 3 truck loads no trailer, and a 15 foot U-haul and never stopped there again.

Interesting.... because the sign just proceeding the agriculture inspection station on south bound I-75 clearly lists RENTAL TRUCKS as one class of vehicles that MUST stop for inspections.

We have made two rental truck trips to TV in past 60 days, stopping each time. The only questions we were asked regarded plants. Never anything mentioned about pets.

This agriculture inspection station expects ALL truck/trailer vehicles that could contain plants to stop. That is what we were told when we asked. They also did not seem too concerned about our house plants, but did asked more details about some of our garden plants we were bringing with us. In the end, both times were brief and courteous. We were quickly back on our way.

No big deal.

Don

[jebartle]

We pulled in, they asked if we had any plants or animals, we said "No, just motorcycle and house stuff".....As we were pulling away, we remembered that we had a golf topiary, Ooops, Oh well!

[Blessed2BNTV]

Here's link on pet travel.

https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/...-FAQs.aspx#cvi