PASSPORTS FOR
PETS! 
PASSPORTS FOR
PETS!
£400 Passport to take pets abroad
Pets are to get passports so they can travel abroad and return home without enduring six months quarantine. The scheme means cats and dogs will be able to go on holiday with their owners as long as they have had a rabies jab and also an identification microchip fitted. The scheme is expected to cost owners an average of £400 for microchipping and blood tests over the lifetime of their pet.
Agriculture Minister Baroness Hayman said: "I am delighted that we are modernising the quarantine system. Cat and dog owners can now take steps to prepare for the new pilot scheme that will allow them to travel to and from countries in Western Europe."
Animals will have to have their blood screened before being issued with their passport, which will be stamped by a vet. They will also have to be treated against ticks and tapeworms within 48 hours of their return.
Campaigners welcomed an end to Britain's tough 100-year old anti-rabies laws, which meant pets had to be quarantined for six months at a cost of about £2,000.
Lady Fretwell, of Passports For Pets, said: "I am very pleased. We have now got the final pieces of the jigsaw to make this work." RSPCA Spokesman Alex Ross said: "It means pet owners will be able to travel about more freely with their animals but we will retain a safe and effective protection against rabies."
Once the pilot scheme is under way next April vaccinated animals must wait six months before a blood test to determine whether a disease is incubating. Testing will be done by 11 approved labs. Pets will then be able to leave the country on ferries from Portsmouth and Dover, or the Channel tunnel or Heathrow airport. Eurotunnel is gearing up for carrying them. Guide dogs may be able to travel to Australia and New Zealand. Animals returning from the US and Canada, where rabies is rife, will still be kept in quarantine.
About 350,000 pets will travel under the scheme in the first year. It is expected to be fully operational by April 2001.
HOW THE SCHEME WILL WORK
The pilot scheme applies only to dogs and cats. Countries and territories from which animals may enter Britain under PETS are: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland and the Vatican City. The pilot scheme relates only to the UK. The first step for pet owners is to arrange the microchipping of their animal to give permanent proof of identity. A vet will do this by inserting the chip under the skin, normally between the animals's shoulder blades, at a cost of about £30. A vaccination against rabies must then be given by a vet. Pets can then have a blood test, taken at least 30 days after the vaccination. The test must be carried out at a Government-approved laboratory. Eleven have so far been recognised including the Veterinary Laboratory Agency in Weybridge, Surrey. A full list can be obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture. Pets that give a successful blood sample before the scheme starts can travel as soon as it begins, but those who take the blood test later, or which are resident outside the UK and Ireland, will have to wait six months after a successful blood test result before they can come into the UK. Once all the above regulations have been met a health certificate or passport will be issued by an authorised vet. The final procedure is for the pet to be treated for tapeworm and ticks between 24 and 48 hours before returning to the UK. Cats and dogs from Canada and the United States are not eligible due to rabies still being present in North American wildlife.
The Ministry of Agriculture has set up a PETS helpline for pet owners: please telephone: 0208 330 6835.
ANOTHER 15
COUNTRIES PUT ON PASSPORT LIST
From next January, a further 15 rabies-free areas will be included in the pet passport scheme. They are: AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN, SINGAPORE, CYPRUS, MALTA, FALKLAND ISLANDS, VANUATU, NEW CALEDONIA, ST HELENA, ASCENSION ISLAND, BARBADOS, MONTSERRAT, BERMUDA, AND HAWAII.
PLEASE NOTE: This website is not connected in any way to the Passports for Pets Scheme. If you have any questions related to passports for pets pleae write to : passports.forpets@virgin.net
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