Politics

You need to start visiting a vet now if you're taking a pet on holiday next year


The way you take a pet on holiday is changing due to Brexit.

And this isn’t something that’s happening in some distant future. If you’re planning a holiday in January, it’s already too late to take your pet.

And if you’re planning to go away in February or March, coronavirus chaos notwithstanding, you need to act now.

EU ‘pet passports’ for dogs, cats and ferrets – including assistance dogs – will no longer be valid from 1 January 2021, prompting a huge surge in red tape.

Current requirements say your pet should be vaccinated and microchipped three weeks before the first visit.

If you’re planning to go away in February or March, you need to act now

But for any holidays after December 31, you must visit a vet at least four months before you travel.

This process may become easier if the UK joins the EU’s register of “listed” countries, but that’s not guaranteed yet.

What’s the system now?

You wouldn’t want your friend to be left out of a holiday, would you

Current rules say you should get an EU “pet passport” if you are taking a dog, cat or ferret from the UK to the EU.

A vet should fill in details of ownership, a description of the animal, rabies vaccine details and other details.

Your animal also needs to be microchipped.

Once you have the pet passport, you can travel freely with your pet in the EU.

What would the new system be?

It’s very complicated, so in the meantime, here’s a doggo on a unicorn

Under the new system, things will be more complicated.

But exactly how complicated depends on what agreement – if any – the UK ends up making with the EU.

Currently there is no agreement so the UK will be an “unlisted” country – the bottom rung of the ladder that carries the most red tape.

Under the unlisted system, you need to go to the vet at least four months before you travel.

First you must get the animal microchipped and vaccinated against rabies. Then you must wait at least 30 days before having a blood sample taken.

Another three months after that (in the meantime, your blood sample should have been approved by an EU-approved lab), you can travel.

The vet must give you a copy of the test results and an animal health certificate (AHC).

Make sure you read up on the details

But you need to time this move carefully, because once your vet produces the certificate, it’s only valid for 10 days to take your pet into the EU.

When you arrive in the EU, you’ll need to pass through a Travellers’ point of entry (TPE) where you may need to present proof of your pet’s chip, rabies vaccination, rabies blood test result, and tapeworm treatment if relevant.

If you want to go to the EU again, you’ll need to get a health certificate all over again. This won’t take four months, but you will need to take your pet to an “official vet” at least 10 days before you travel.

What would the system be if we become ‘listed’?

If the EU agrees to make the UK a ‘listed’ country, things will become easier.

If we become Part 1 listed, pets could go on holiday from the UK to the EU in much the same way they do now.

However, only a very small number of countries are Part 1 listed.

Most countries that have an agreement are Part 2 listed. While this would mean less red tape than an ‘unlisted’ country, it will mean pets can only enter the EU with a valid ‘EU Model Animal Health Certificate’.

What if we get a trade deal?

That seems unlikely to affect the rules on taking pets on holiday. The government is asking people to plan on the basis of the UK being ‘unlisted’ whether we get a wide trade deal or not.

What if I need to know more?

For full details direct from the government click here.





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