Checklist for Travelling with a Pet

By Lydia R. Coleman


A lot of people want to take their animals with them when they go abroad, but usually this would mean quarantine for at least six months. This is an unfortunate necessity in order to prevent the spread of rabies. Animals and people in England are not at risk from rabies, but this is only thanks to stringent rules on what is allowed in from abroad, as most other counties are not able to control this fatal disease.

A scheme called PETS has been set up, and subscribed to by many nations, in order to help prevent the spread of animal-based disease. This means that by registering your animal and meeting all of the requirements for travel you can take it abroad and return to the UK without having to leave the animal in quarantine. This means that your pet is put through much less stress and that you don't have the anxiety of being separated from it either, although it does take some serious planning, preparation and money.

You need to start the process as soon as you know you need to travel with the animal. Cats and dogs have to have a blood test six months before returning to the UK, so that means forward planning. You also need the vet to set up a passport for the animal, and to microchip it in order to ensure that it can be easily identified by border control officials. After that it will need a vaccine against rabies to be performed a month before travel, and then more jabs, this time against ticks and worms, two days before travel. It has to be done in this order, and any failure to meet the requirements will see your animal being put in quarantine for six months.

This will also mean you pet gets its own passport, but that doesn't mean in can travel in the plane with you, unless it's a guide dog. Instead you'll have to register the pet with a PETS approved transport, which in most case is the hold of the plane you're travelling in, but again, book well in advance to ensure that everything goes smoothly - airlines have limited pet space.

Consider your pet's well-being before you travel too, and try to make the transit as comfortable as possible, as it will be a difficult experience for any animal.




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