Taking your pets to the UK has never been easier!
If you live in the UK or wish to travel to the UK when choosing to holiday close to home this year - then why not take your pets with you?
Imagine how much fun your pooch would have paddling in the Bay of Biscay or climbing in the Alps! Would you cat love sunbathing by your pool in Spain or Italy? Even the ferret can come too!
Why Is The UK Different?
Well, all countries have regulations about the movement of animals from one country to another and you should check these out whenever traveling with your pets.
Some are very strict and some are more flexible.
However, the UK has always protected itself from the threat of rabies with a 6-month quarantine period.
These days, you don’t need to leave your pet in quarantine - you just need to get it a passport and it can visit or return to the UK whenever you want it to.
What’s A Pets Passport?
Basically, the scheme has been running for several years, but not everyone knows about it.
Taking your pet with you can really improve you holiday fun and it is so easy when you follow some simple steps.
A valid PETS passport allows you to avoid quarantine kennels by vaccinating your pet against rabies in advance. You still need to wait the full 6 months before travelling to or returning to the UK, but you can do this in the comfort of your own home rather than in a secure kennel.
There is only one way to get your dog, cat or ferret a passport and it takes at least 7 months from start to finish - it could be longer. But it will never be shorter!
Many people think that they can ‘buy’ a PETS passport when they find a stray dog in Spain or wherever and bring it straight into the UK. But a passport doesn’t avoid the 6-months quarantine, it just changes where the pet has to be during that 6 months.
The Process:
There are 4 main steps in the process by which you can obtain a PETS passport which you can do at any time, and one further step just before entering the UK.
However, in a few cases several of these steps need to be repeated - and at the expense of the owner!
If any of the first 4 steps are not completed - the passport will not be issued in the first place. And if you miss step 5 or let the passport expire - your pet will not be allowed to enter the UK other than straight into quarantine! So please make sure you understand the process!
Step 1 - Day 1:
Your dog, cat or ferret must be micro-chipped.
These tiny ‘chips are uniquely identified by a series of numbers. When a microchip scanner is passed over the embedded chip the individual code will appear on the screen. This unique code will be linked through the existing database to the owners details, thus identifying this individual animal.
This makes sure that the animal that is being imported/exported is the animal that has been issued the PETS passport in the first place.
Step 2 - Day 1 onwards:
Your dog, cat or ferret must be vaccinated against rabies.
Your local vet will be able to inject your pet with the rabies vaccination at a routine appointment. This will send anti-bodies against rabies around your pets body, which in turn should help your pet kill off the rabies virus if it becomes infected.
You can have the vaccine at the same time as the animal was micro-chipped.
Step 3 - 2-3 weeks after Step 2:
A blood sample taken and tested for rabies anti-bodies.
You need to return to your vets around 14-21 days after the vaccination (or as advised by your vets) to have a blood sample taken to make sure that there are sufficient anti-bodies in your pets blood to protect it from the rabies virus.
This blood test must take place at an EU approved laboratory.
If there are not enough anti-bodies in the sample then the blood test will need to be done again later, or Step 2 and 3 repeated.
Step 4 - After Step 3 blood test has been passed.
Only when anti-body levels are deemed high enough, will the animal be checked over one final time, the chip checked and the passport issued.
The passport will become valid for travel to the UK 6 months AFTER the blood test with acceptable anti-body level was taken. Not a day sooner!
The passport however, will be valid for travel TO any other EU country 21 days after the rabies vaccine was given (if coming from the UK). Check with the EU country you get your PETS passport from if outside of the UK as several countries have slightly different requirements.
Your PETS passport is only valid while you have rabies cover, so you must get your pets re-vaccinated against rabies before the current one expires. If you are even 1 day late for the vaccination, the passport becomes invalid and you have to start all over again from Step 2, and wait a further 6-7 months before you can return to the UK (without quarantine).
Therefore, if you maintain the rabies vaccines after your original passport is issued, you will have continued cover for as long as your pet is alive.
Step 5 - Tick & Tapeworm Treatment:
Must be applied by a vet 24-48 hours before entering the UK.
There are several things that the UK wants to avoid apart from rabies, and they are a certain tick and a potentially fatal (to humans)tapeworm.
The required treatment is quite specific and needs to be applied by, or the application of the treatment witnessed by, a qualified veterinary surgeon. This vet then needs to complete a section on your PETS passport to confirm the times, as if your flight or ferry is delayed - it will ‘expire’ and have to be re-applied.
Needless to say, this treatment will need to be applied by a vet that may not be your own - so you will need to make sure you find a suitable vets and get an appointment with them within a day of your intended travel to the UK.
The Cost?
Well, it is difficult to quote an exact price as all vets will charge different fees for different procedures, but you should be looking at the following price range:
Step 1: Microchipping - £10-£25
Step 2: Vaccination - £45-£55
Step 3: Blood Test - £50-£60
Step 4: Final Issue - £20-£30
Step 5: Treatment - £20-£40
Total: Between £145 and £210
AND: You also have to pay for your pet to travel with you in the first place. There are only certain routes that will accept pets through the PETS scheme, and this cost will need to be factored in to this just as with your own travel costs.
Visit DEFRA’s factsheet for more indepth details!
The scheme has allowed thousands of pets to travel abroad with their owners every year virtually hassle free - or at least no more trouble that traveling with kids! Why don’t you become one of them?