Owners from Great Britain travelling to EU warned over pet passport ‘dodge’ | Pets

British pet owners looking to take their furry friends elsewhere in Europe have been warned not to try to evade expensive health certificates by using an overseas-issued pet passport.

Before Brexit, taking a cat, dog or ferret to the EU was relatively simple: the Pet Travel Scheme meant an animal needed a microchip, rabies vaccination, a pet passport, and for dogs there were also requirements for tapeworm treatment.

However, since 2021, the process has become more cumbersome and expensive, with the pet passport component being replaced by the new passport component. animal health certificate (AHC).

This document must be issued within 10 days before entering the EU and is valid for four months for travel within the EU and re-entry into Great Britain. A slightly simpler process involving a pet travel document is in place for travel from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Pet passports can still be issued to owners resident in Northern Ireland.

However, including social media sites reddit And Facebook It is full of pet owners reporting that they have bypassed the need for AHC by obtaining a pet passport from a veterinarian within the EU; this approach is often taken by people in caravans and “Van life community.

Consultant neurologist Dr Hagley, Worcestershire. David Nicholl has an EU pet passport for his Jack Russell Lily and notes that it is much cheaper than the AHC.

“[There is] a lot of hassle and [it is] “It’s too expensive with the current system,” he said.

Nicholl said he arranged an EU pet passport for Lily in Belgium and had no difficulty using it, adding that the owner’s address did not appear on the document.

But some experts warned the approach could backfire.

Senior vice-president of the British Veterinary Association, Dr. Elizabeth Mullineaux says: EU guidance states that: The European pet passport (for dogs, cats and ferrets) is only issued to pet owners residing in the EU..

“Britons trying to use this as a cheap or easy alternative should be aware of the risks of pets being caught when transporting them between the EU and Great Britain,” he says.

While a pet passport is valid for the life of the animal, provided its rabies vaccination is up to date, the European Commission confirms that EU pet passports are only valid for pets habitually resident with their owner in an EU member state.

It also highlights that an EU pet passport issued to a pet owner resident in Great Britain (regardless of the pet owner’s nationality) is no longer a valid document for traveling with pets from Great Britain to the EU..

“This applies to passports issued in a member state or Northern Ireland or Great Britain before the end of the transition period, and to passports issued in a member state or Northern Ireland after the end of the transition period,” a Commission spokesman said.

Instead, the commission says an AHC issued by an official veterinarian in Great Britain is required for each entry of a pet residing in Great Britain and traveling to the EU.

“The implementation of this legislation is in the hands of the competent authorities of the member state. The use of invalid documents may lead to the animal being refused entry to the EU borders,” the spokesman added.

However, the AHC requirement is costly and prices vary widely across the country.

The Guardian found some vets charge more than £250 for a single animal and give discounts for additional pets. However, AHCs are generally much cheaper at veterinary practices near ports and the Channel tunnel; Some in Folkestone in Kent offer AHCs for £99 for one pet and £124 for two pets. If the pet is a returning customer and their details have not changed, fees can be as low as £69 for one pet and £94 for two pets.

BVA says AHCs are more burdensome, complex and time-consuming for vets than pet passports, meaning the documents are more costly for pet owners.

“The fact that costs vary from practice to practice or from one location to another reflects that no two businesses are the same due to differences in staff costs and wage structures, as well as the cost of renting premises, and so it is difficult to accurately compare like-for-like,” says Mullineaux.

However, the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says that the Competition and Markets Authority has taken the necessary measures in this regard. Final stages of investigation into veterinary services for petspossibly include reviewing anti-competitive pricing.

Chris Theobald, senior policy, PR and campaigns manager at charity Guide Dogs, said more changes were on the way.

“Following calls from organizations including Guide Dogs, the UK and EU have agreed for the UK to rejoin the pet passport scheme but a date for this has not yet been confirmed,” it says.