Pet Passports 

Background

The UK has for many years been free from Rabies.  In order to maintain this, animals entering from abroad were in the past forced to endure 6 months quarantine in an approved kennel.  This was extremely expensive and stressful for both owner and pet.

More recently, the government has introduced the PETS Travel Scheme which allows animals to re-enter the UK after travelling abroad without the need for quarantine.

What is involved?

·        Firstly, your pet needs to be identified by the implantation of an electronic microchip.  This is the size of a grain of rice and sits, painlessly, under the skin between the shoulder blades.

·         Your pet then needs to be vaccinated against rabies (it is  illegal to vaccinate a non-microchipped animal).  This can be given at the same time as the microchip.

·        To ensure the vaccine has produced an adequate antibody response a blood sample needs to be taken 21 days after the rabies vaccination. This is submitted to the Government Veterinary Laboratories for testing.

What happens next?

Providing the blood sample testing shows an adequate response for rabies antibodies, we are then in the position to issue your pet with a passport. 

This is valid for re-entry into the UK 6 months from the date of successful blood sampling, until the day the rabies vaccine is due for boosting.

The Pet Passport

The UK Pet Passport is a re-entry passport for coming back into this country.  It does not necessarily give you the right to enter foreign countries with your pet.  You must always contact DEFRA to enquire about the import requirements for any particular    country.

Entry into most European countries is generally straight forward.  However, import     requirements to other countries might involve a veterinary health certificate and official certification perhaps 48 hours before departure.

Certain countries have slightly different Rabies booster protocols in order to satisfy their import requirements.  An example of this is Spain that requires a yearly vaccine, even though the re-entry passport for the UK may be fully valid.

Costs

The costs for the whole scheme, at the time of press, are as follows:

Microchip                     £23.53

Rabies vaccination      £35.47

Blood sample               £ 7.71

Laboratory Fee             £58.38

Issue Passport             £12.70

Total                           £137.79

Time involved

The time period required between first rabies vaccination and having a valid   re-entry passport issued is about 8 months.  This does not preclude your pet travelling out of the UK within that period but your pet could not return without quarantine until the passport is valid.

What happens when the passport expires?

Your passport will normally expire on the day the rabies booster is due.  Provided a booster dose is given before this date we can update your pet’s passport.

Rabies booster doses are given every 2 years for dogs and every year for cats.  Nevertheless, certain countries may  require a Rabies booster within 12 months of entry, for example, Spain.

If you miss a rabies booster, the whole process of blood sampling etc begins again, so don’t miss it!

When travelling abroad please be aware that some countries have animal diseases that are not present in the UK.  You may need to take further precautions to keep your pet healthy.  Please refer to our Exotic Diseases handout.