Travelling with your dog POST BREXIT /POST LOCKDOWN

Post-Brexit Travel for Dogs

How do the new laws affect you and your dog? Be ready for when we able to travel again.

The BBC recently published very comprehensive guidelines for UK / EU travel with dogs.

Travelling to the EU

When you travel with your pet from England, Scotland and Wales to the EU, you will need to follow new procedures.

You can no longer use a pet passport issued in Great Britain - England, Wales and Scotland - for travel to an EU country or Northern Ireland.

However, you can still use a pet passport issued in an EU country or Northern Ireland.

You are obliged by law to obtain an animal health certificate (AHC).

So, make sure you have

• a microchip
• a valid rabies vaccination
• an animal health certificate  (unless you have a pet passport issued in an EU country or Northern Ireland, though please check with your vet)
• tapeworm treatment  for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway or Malta

The AHC confirms that your pet is microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.

You will need to get a new certificate each time you travel with your pet; and you must obtain it within 10 days of the date you intend to travel.

The document is valid for 4 months, for a single trip into the EU, onward travel within the EU, and for re-entry to Great Britain.

The certificate will be issued by your vet.

Please note that these requirements also apply to assistance dogs.

We strongly suggest that you carefully check the rules of the country you’re travelling to, for any additional restrictions or requirements before you travel.

On arrival in the EU, you will need to enter through a designated travellers' point of entry. These are listed on the EU website :

https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/pet-movement/eu-legislation/non-commercial-non-eu/tpe_en.

Arriving in an EU country or Northern Ireland

You’ll need to go through a travellers point of entry when you arrive in an EU country or Northern Ireland.

You will most likely need to show your pet’s animal health certificate, along with proof of their microchip, rabies vaccination, and tapeworm treatment.

Repeat trips to an EU country or Northern Ireland

Your pet will need a new animal health certificate for each trip to an EU country or Northern Ireland.

For each trip - if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Malta, Northern Ireland or Norway - your dog will need to have had tapeworm treatment  (it’s the echinococcus multilocularis), 1 to 5 days before arrival.

If you live in the EU

If you live in the EU and have a pet passport issued by an EU member state, you will be able to use it to bring your pet to the UK.

You will be able to return to the EU with the EU-issued pet passport as well.

If you are using a UK-issued pet passport, the government's website says you should speak to your vet who will help you to ensure you are compliant with EU rules.

Travelling with more than 5 pets

You can’t take more than 5 pets to an EU country or Northern Ireland unless you’re attending or training for a competition, show, or sporting event

You’ll need written evidence of registration for the event when you travel.

All your pets must be attending the event or training, be over 6 months old, and meet all the other requirements for pet travel to that country

Lastly…

We’re all human, according to the government website.

"The UK government recognises that pet owners and assistance dog users will need time to adjust to these changes. It's working with the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (DAERA) on an enforcement approach that takes these challenges into account."