DEFRA finally changes Pet Passport rules :-)

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Ciss

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Great news for all those travelling with / importing dogs (and cats) from abroad. DEFRA has finally accepted that it has to be EU-compliant and 6 months quarantine for Rabies has become a 21 day waiting period after vaccination for all animals imported from the EU and other countries with effective rabies control. Here is the link

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/06/30/new-rules-pet-passports/

DEFRA was required to become compliant with EU regulations by 1 January 2012, so with the current quarantine for rabies being 6 months, yesterday was the last day they could announce the change so that pets arriving in the UK on or after 1 January 2012 did not have to had their rabies vaccinations and blood tests at least 6 months beforehand.

Considering all the problems, distress and ludicrous expense that the current and previous regulations have caused to dog and cat owners wishing to travel their animal abroad, import new ones or even bring in semen (yes unbelievably frozen dog semen currently has to be quarantined for 6 months and the importation of fresh and chilled is not possible becuase of the 6 month rule either of course) it is odd that this announcment has been hidden away in their news section as a statement by Caroline Spellman and there was no official 'launch' of the new regulations. It is almost as if they are ashamed at finally having to give up what they now describe as an outdated set of procedures but they probably realised the game was up when the Irish government announced last week that it was becoming EU compliant.

Bit difficult to stop stray dogs and cats crossing the border into Northern Ireland I would imagine!
 
What I'd like to know is if vets had prior warning of this. We had 10 passports issued a couple of months ago so we could take ours racing at the start of next year. I am seriously not happy as had we known this, we could have saved around £500 from not having to do the blood tests. That's a lot of money and we had saved up for doing them. Basically a huge waste of money.
 
suzysparkle said:
What I'd like to know is if vets had prior warning of this. We had 10 passports issued a couple of months ago so we could take ours racing at the start of next year. I am seriously not happy as had we known this, we could have saved around £500 from not having to do the blood tests. That's a lot of money and we had saved up for doing them. Basically a huge waste of money.
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I doubt it :-(. They may have suspected it -- in that I would imagine that the BVA had told its members that DEFRA woudl have to do something by 30 June -- but we all know that DEFRA can be so unpredictable that they may just have decided to go for derogation on this (although haow they would have policed the Northern Ireland border now that the Republic has decided to be compliant is another matter!). If they had still kept the rules then the 6 month period would of course still be in place, but if you are taking your dogs abroad significantly AFTER 1 January 2012 I do think the vet could have advised you to hold off until after 30 June before making your decision.

BTW, you still need pet passports to take them abroad, its just that the animals only need to be vaccinated for rabies at least 21 days before deaprture and no titre test is needed either. So for you it all depends on your departure date.
 
Ooooh jeepers. Some EU countries I have no issue with dogs etc travelling from, but for others this news is terrifying stuff:eek:
 
suzysparkle said:
What I'd like to know is if vets had prior warning of this. We had 10 passports issued a couple of months ago so we could take ours racing at the start of next year. I am seriously not happy as had we known this, we could have saved around £500 from not having to do the blood tests. That's a lot of money and we had saved up for doing them. Basically a huge waste of money.
Click to expand...

It has been on the EU directive for probably 18 months - 2 yrs. There has been alot about this derogation posted on the internet for a long time.
 
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Yeah I know we will still need the passports (which we have) but it's just annoying as the blood draws and tests were the most expensive part. Thanks for the links, I will have a look.
 
I'm very pleased to see this news, it means if I want to now I can take the dogs at short notice over to my parents in France and no longer need to plan 6 months in advance. The actual reason I didnt do this when OH left last year was because I would have been stuck there for 6 months had I wanted to come home I couldnt have. Now if I want to passport and go over I can...and get back again when I want, brilliant!
 
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