Pet Travel and Moving with Animals to the UK

Share | Print | +

Buzz

Delicious

Digg

Facebook

Google

Propeller

reddit

StumbleUpon

Twitter

Yahoo!

Pet Travel and Moving with Animals to the UK

Relocating to the United Kingdom with animals can be relatively easy if you're moving pets within the European Union.

If pets are being relocated to the United Kingdom from a country outside the European Union, it can seem expensive and more complicated. However, if all the paperwork is in order things should go smoothly.

Moving EU Pets to the United Kingdom

The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) provides for qualifying domestic pets to travel to and from the UK without undergoing quarantine.

Pet travel laws can be affected by exceptional outbreaks of diseases. Recent examples are Avian Influenza (the H5N1 strain of bird flu) and Foot and Mouth disease.

DEFRA, the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural affairs, has comprehensive and up-to-date information on their website. It can also provide an information pack on request.

• For further information on pet travel: Click here

The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS)

Pet dogs, cats and ferrets are allowed in the UK from other EU countries without quarantine under the Pet Travel Scheme, which sets out strict guidelines which must be adhered to. The regulations, which also apply to guide dogs, are to keep the UK free from rabies and certain other diseases.

Domestic pets travelling from the UK to the Republic of Ireland, and vice versa, do not need any documentation.

Entering the UK, Ireland, Malta or Sweden

As of 1 January 2012, the rules regarding moving pet animals to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and Malta have been harmonised with the rest of the EU. A blood test after the rabies vaccination is no longer necessary and the waiting time before entry is shortened from six months to 21 days. Tick treatment is not obligatory.

Dogs must be treated against tapeworm no less than 24 hours and not more than 120 hours (five days) before arriving in the UK. This treatment must be recorded in the pet passport by a veterinary surgeon. Dogs arriving from Malta, Ireland or Finland do not need to be treated against tapeworm.

• For more information about tapeworm treatment: Click here

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has comprehensive information on the new policy:

• For more information from DEFRA regarding the new rules: Click here
• For the leaflet Bringing pets into the UK after 1 January 2012: Click here (PDF)

For information from Sweden and Ireland’s governments:

• For information on the rules that apply for Ireland: Click here
• For information on the rules that apply for Sweden: Click here

The EU Pet Passport

The European Pet Passport is a booklet, identical for all European countries, which contains obligatory information concerning an individual animal: identification number and proof of valid vaccine against the rabies virus. It may contain other non-obligatory information. It is valid for the lifetime of the pet. Each passport is numbered for identification purposes.

All animals travelling within the European Union need to be accompanied by a Pet Passport, apart from those moving between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, who can do so without any documentation. Passports may only be issued by a licensed vet, and it, and any vaccinations, should be kept up to date.

Number of Animals

As of May 26 2010, people moving to the UK from other countries in the EU are limited to bringing no more than five dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits or rodents with them.

Pet rabbits and rodents

Pet rabbits and rodents are also covered by the PETS, and can be moved to the UK from EU countries without going into quarantine. They can also be brought to the UK from Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican.

Moving horses to the UK

Horses can come to and from the UK, provided that they have a valid horse passport. The passport must have been issued by an authorised Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO) in the EU within 30 days of importing the horse.

• For further information on importing horses and to find the nearest PIO: Click here
• For further information on getting a horse passport: Click here

According to EU legislation, all foals born after 1 July 2008 must be microchipped for identification purposes before they are six months old. This requirement is not retroactive and therefore does not apply to horses born before this date.

Pet birds, reptiles and amphibians

Birds, reptiles and amphibians may be brought to the UK provided that they are accompanied by their owner and a letter from a vet stating that they are healthy and fit to complete the journey.

• For further information see the Animal Passports website

Moving non-EU Pets to the United Kingdom

In December 2002, two years after the scheme was launched, PETS was extended to cover more than 50 non-European countries including Canada, the USA and Australia. As long as pet animals have the necessary documentation, which includes a third country veterinary certificate, and have not been outside one of these countries in the previous six months, they will be allowed to move to and from the UK without going into quarantine.

• For a list of the qualifying countries: Click here

Exceptions

Although Malaysia is included on the list, it must be noted that there are further guidelines when bringing dogs and cats to and from the country. Vets must confirm that the animal:

• Has had no contact with pigs at least 60 days prior to export
• Had not been living anywhere near areas where there have been cases of Nipah disease confirmed in the past 60 days
• Has had a negative result to an IgC capture ELISA test for the Nipah disease

Animals from Jamaica may not be prepared for PETS.

The Russian Federation is a qualifying country but, please note, the federation does not include the following countries Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Countries Excluded from PETS

Animals that come to the UK from any country which does not follow the PETS scheme must spend six months in quarantine from the day they arrive. They will also need an import licence, this licence is generally filled in by the quarantine premises.

• For comprehensive information about the procedure and a list of quarantine centres: Click here

Note that not all airports and sea ports will accept animals that need to go directly to quarantine. For a list of the relevant airports and ports, see the DEFRA website.

Dogs Banned in the UK

The following dogs are banned in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

• Pit Bull Terrier
• Japanese Tosa
• Dogo Argentino
• Fila Braziliero

Pet Carriers to the United Kingdom

Pets can be transported by sea or air, on one of the many PETS-approved carriers. There is only a limited amount of space and owners must book in advance if they would like their pet to travel with them.

Pets entering the UK on airlines must normally be carried in the hold. However, guide dogs or other assistance dogs are allowed to travel in the cabin with their owner on certain approved routes. For those animals carried in the hold, they will have to travel in an approved container. It must be big enough for the animal to stand, sit and turn during the journey. The container must allow adequate ventilation. If the journey is longer than a few hours, food and drink may need to be supplied.

• For a comprehensive list of PETS carriers and routes from DEFRA: Click here