Are you planning on taking your pooch for some summer sun in Spain? Or to the Christmas markets in Bruges? Or a festive trip to Paris? Living so close to Deal, Dover and Folkestone I see a lot of clients hopping across the channel with their pets for an adventure!
No matter what our views about Brexit are, it is important that we prepare for the changes ahead. If your pet has never had a rabies vaccine or their vaccine is out of date, then this process takes a minimum of 4 months to be ready to travel. Failure to follow protocol with pet travel can result in costly quarantine, and possible denied entry.
DEFRA have released further guidance on how the Pet Passport scheme will run following our EU departure at the end of October.
To travel with your pet* to EU countries you will need to complete the following steps:
- Get your pet microchipped/check that your pet’s microchip is scanning
- Ensure that your pet’s rabies vaccination is up to date. Puppies and kittens must be at least 12 weeks old for the vaccine.
- Return to your vet at least 30 days after your pet’s rabies vaccination for a blood test to check their immunity.
- Wait 3 calendar months after a successful blood test before travel (date of blood test, not the result)
- Get a vet to complete an Animal Health Certificate within 10 days of your outbound journey.
- If your pet’s rabies vaccinations are then kept up to date, you won’t need to repeat the blood test for each journey.
You can check the changes at gov.uk/brexit-pet-travel
*these rules apply to dogs, cats and ferrets. Please contact your own vet or DEFRA for details on other animals.
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