By Helen Rumbelow

THE first non-quarantined pets from outside Europe will be allowed into Britain at the end of this month, but no airline is yet prepared to fly them directly into the country. The Government said yes­terday that the pet passport scheme would be extended from January 31 to 28 new countries all rabies free —including Japan, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.

The new locations also include Cyprus and the Falklands. which have families in the British military who often want to relocate with their pets. However, they must first fly to Amsterdam, Madrid, Brussels, Frankfurt or Helsinki, before travelling on to London.

This is because only three airlines are at present pre­pared to carry non-quaran­tined pets into Britain: British Midland, Finn Air and Lufthansa, and none has the licence that would allow them to fly in pets directly from the approved countries.

All the other major airlines have been reluctant to apply for a licence, citing bureau­cratic difficulties in changing their system. Lady Fretwell, chairman of Passports for Pets, said that the situation was ridiculous, and accused British Airways of “foot dragging” on the issue.

“The good news is that the scheme is rolling forward brilliantly, and there are thousands of happy people who will benefit,” Lady Fretwell said. “But it is absurd for someone coming from Japan to have to fly to Madrid first just because they have their pet with them. British Airways backed off from supporting the European scheme, which sent a terrible signal to the other airlines.”

British Airways said that it had not joined the scheme initially because it needed more time to consider the effects. “It is quite a complex scheme to administer and there is staff training involved in that,” a spokeswoman said. “Now we have said we would like to take part, and we hope to start in a couple of months on one or two routes initially.”

Dog or cat owners living in the new countries must start preparing as soon as possible. Animals must have an identity microchip under their skin, have a rabies vaccination, and then a blood test several months later, before they can be issued with a travelling certificate.

A vet’s certificate is also needed to show that the ani­mal has been treated against ticks and tapeworm. The new countries are being added to 22 in Western Europe have been allowed to certify pets since February, Baroness Hayman, an Agriculture Minister, said.

Mike Nussbaum, 55, the first man to travel with a guide dog on the Pet Travel Scheme last summer, welcomed the move. “The more routes that open up the better. It gives so much more freedom to me with a working dog,” Mr Nussbaum said. “We’re just keen that more airlines take up the scheme, as well as other forms of transport like Eurostar.” he added. “If Eurostar joined in it would mean a blind person could travel independently to Paris or Brussels.”

However, he admitted that he would be reluctant to travel with Gretal, his guide dog, on a Iong-haul route because of concern for her comfort.

 Whence Rover may return . . .

THE TIMES THURSDAY 4th JANUARY 2001 

PET PEEVES

Extending pet passports safely will require simpler rules

 A Briton’s freedom to take his pet abroad died with Queen Victoria. The quarantine of 1901 prevented all cats, dogs and domestic animals from entering the country freely—until the introduction of pet passports last year. Yesterday the popular scheme was extended to cover another 28 ;-rabies free countries.

Britain has always been a nation ofanimal fanatics. Lady Fretwell, chairman of Passports for Pets, was appointed OBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to animal welfare. Her lobbying ended the expensive upset of quarantine for pets like the delightfully named Frodo Baggins, the first British dog to travel with a pet passport. With the expansion of animal travel Frodo’s fame may be eclipsed by the likes of Pecorino, a supermodel mongrel that has since been snapped looking rugged in front of Leaning Tower of Pisa and gruff at La Defense in Paris. But 2001, open for the first time to foreign dogs, will not be overrun by competition until pet passports are simplified. More airlines need to embrace the scheme but carriers like British Airways argue that the cost of policing complex rules is too high. Only three airlines currently accept animals as passengers.

Measures to prevent the spread of rabies are rightly stringent, although expensive at around £200. Pets must be microchipped, vaccinated and blood-tested. After six months a certificate from an authorised vet becomes valid. But an extra requirement to treat ticks and tapeworm between 24 and 48 hours before travel is complicating an otherwise humane scheme. Campaigners say that around 12 per cent of pets are still refused entry to Britain because of the problems caused by such a tight timetable. More than 1,300 animals have so far been turned away, mostly with incorrect certificates. Experts argue that the short notice is unnecessary: animals could be treated at the port of entry since, even under quarantine, pets were not routinely treated for anything other than rabies. Confusion could also be reduced by standardising the dog’s breakfast of official forms, which differ from country to country.

AT LAST Britain's antiquated quarantine laws seem on the way out. Introduced after a spate of rabies deaths in the last century, they have caused immense heartache to generations of pet owners who have seen their animals led away and shut up in solitary confinement for six months if they bring them into Britain.

They have not even been allowed to take the family dog to France for a weekend without it being seized on their return. Later this week the Government will seek views about introducing an alternative to the current laws. Quarantine would remain as a backstop. But animals which have been inoculated with an effective vaccine would have a 'pet passport' - a micro chip implanted in an animal's ear or neck which could be scanned by Customs officers to verify any blood test certificate. They would then be able to come and go as freely as their owners.

Of course, nothing should be allowed to jeopardise public health; although it is worth recalling that we have never imposed similar draconian laws on human disease carriers as we do on dogs and cats. And, while rabies can be a terrible killer, a recent survey showed that none of the 3,000 animals which have died in quarantine in the past quarter of a century was carrying the virus.

The case for reform is overwhelming.

You can e-mail us at passports.forpets@virgin.net

PASSPORTS FOR PETS
Flat 11, 45 Queen's Gate
London SW7 SHR
Tel: (+44) (0)20 7589 6404
Fax: (+44) (0)20 7589 6403

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