Month: December 2020

Passing Out

Posted on by

Dog travel kit and passport At the 11th hour, it has been announced that the UK will be a Part 2 Listed Country within the Pet Passport Scheme.

In brief, current EU pet passports issued in GB will not be valid for travel to the EU or the six counties of northern Ireland from January 1st, 2021.
Dogs, cats and ferrets travelling to the EU or the six counties of northern Ireland for the first time after that date will require an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) instead of a pet passport and must be microchipped (compulsory for dogs in the UK anyway), older than 12 weeks and vaccinated against rabies. Travel is not permitted within 21 days after the primary rabies vaccination. Thereafter, booster vaccinations will be required for further travel. Details must be completed in the passport and must be completely accurate, otherwise travel will not be permitted.

Tapeworm treatment must be given no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before arrival and recorded in the passport if entering another country before travelling to Finland, Ireland, Malta or Norway. This is not required if travelling directly from the UK. The treatment must contain praziquantel or an equivalent proven to be effective against Echinococcus multilocularis.

The immediate implications for travel are that it will require considerably more planning. This may mean that owners will chose not to undertake casual travel such as short holidays which can only be of benefit to their animals. It may also have a positive impact in reducing the diseases that are transmitted and imported.

A 2019 study found that 89% of dogs imported to the UK, often so-called “rescue” dogs, were illicitly imported using a Pet Passport rather than via the required Balai Directive. 14.8% of the dogs in the study that were tested for the zoonosis Leishmaniasis were positive; just one example of the risks to humans and other animals from imported dogs.

There is also a possibility that it may reduce the number of puppy farmed dogs being imported, but of course that pre-supposes that sufficient resources are being implemented into border force controls.

Deal Or No Deal

Posted on by

Border Control Dover As the Brexit negotiations reach fever pitch just days before the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and the six counties of northern Ireland)* is due to leave the EU, it is still not clear what arrangements will be made with regard to the Pet Passport Scheme.

There are three possibilities for the Pet Passport on January 1st: Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) could either join the countries that are unlisted, listed in Part 1 or listed in Part 2. If Great Britain is unlisted, and current Pet Passports will be invalid from January 1st, 2021. This would require owners of dogs, cats and ferrets to prepare at least four months in advance of travel, as happened when the scheme was first introduced in the UK. Listing under Part 1 or 2 would ease some of those restrictions.

Brexit is also likely to have other implications for dogs (and other animals) regardless of the political deal that may or may not be negotiated in the next 23 days. A great deal of companion animal feed ingredients are imported, mainly from Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Germany and China. Problems with the flow of goods may cause supply problems at least in the short term. There are potentially going to be similar problems with some veterinary medicines and other essential supplies, and it is expected that prices will inevitably rise.

A £705m funding package to help manage Britain’s borders was announced in July and there is the possibility that it might stem the tide of canine imports, both from puppy farms and of European street dogs. The Mediterranean, Ireland, Lithuania and Hungary have been major sources of poorly bred and feral dogs to supply the demand for instant pets. Many of those dogs are imported illegally using the Pet Passport Scheme rather than under the Balai Directive 92/65/EEC which imposes additional requirements regarding welfare and traceability. Dogs must come from a registered holding, undergo a clinical examination by a vet accompanied by the appropriate health certificates and notice of shipment to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. Their destination must be declared to enable follow up checks.

Whether sufficient resources will be put into place to prevent puppy smuggling remains to be seen but it could well be one of the few advantages to the political mess in which the UK has been plunged.