First of all a huge thank you from Mary Fretwell to the great flood of members who, in a vast conspiracy, combined to give her a surprise party and some wonderful presents. It was brilliantly organised by our French co­ordinator, Patrice Swinglehurst, with the very active participation of Edit and Charlotte in the office and of Mary’s daughter Emma. Somehow they totally pulled the wool over our Chairman’s eyes (not an easy thing to do!), contacted the whole membership, arranged the party and got her to it on the pretext of celebrating Emma’s wedding anniversary. The surprise was complete and the party was a joyful event. Alas oniy a tiny proportion of the total membership could be invited, but they included many who had played key roles in the six years of the campaign. Mark Birley had located the perfect symbol for the campaign a bronze basset hound by a well known French sculptor; and this was presented, with other munificent gifts, by Jilly Cooper. Mary would have liked to have written individually to each of the contributors, but this would have paralysed our operations for a considerable time, so she hopes you will all accept this heartfelt expression of her gratitude. Your eloquent letters added to the joy of at last seeing dogs and cats coming through without six months of incarceration.

We have accumulated a lot of information on the operation of the pilot scheme, but we still want more, so please keep the feed-back questionnaires coming in. Much of this was discussed at our meeting with the Ministry on 31 May. In the 3 months up to that date over 2500 dogs and cats had entered the UK without quarantine. Some 14% failed on first presentation, mainly due to problems over the tick and tapeworm certificates. These were generally resolved quickly, often on the basis of a new certificate from a vet near the point of embarkation. It appears that French vets are usually willing to co­operate, despite (or perhaps because of) their scepticism about this whole procedure.

Some animals which failed to qualify for the travel scheme on embarkation have come through into quarantine, but have then qualified for the new early release scheme. The Ministry have accepted that if the problem relates solely to the tick and tapeworm treatment, detention in quarantine need not exceed 24 hours for repeat treatment and subsequent defecation; but one is to some extent in the hands of the quarantine kennel owner and his vet who might delay release and overcharge for their services (we have not heard cases of the former but have of the latter.) I would like to know urgently if any difficulties arise over prompt release. Early release is also working for animals brought into Heathrow on unlicensed airlines, but strictly speaking these are illegal importations and one might run into problems. The Ministry recommend that if one is bringing an animal in on an unlicensed airline one should ask the airline in advance to secure a licence for importation of the animal into quarantine, giving notice that one will be seeking early release. We cannot yet judge how reliable this method of entry will prove, but it does now exist as a possibility for pets which are fully prepared for the travel scheme and need to travel by air. The Ministry is in discussion with further airlines but this is moving slowly and only British Midland (Amsterdam), Lufthansa (Frankfurt) and Finnair (Helsinki) have so far been licensed. Even on these approved flights there are restrictions on the numbers of animals which will be accepted. We would encourage all our members to nag the airlines to extend and improve their services. For most of them it would involve doing exactly what they already do when flying an animal into quarantine through the Heathrow animal centre. We visited the centre and were impressed by their efficiency and the standard of animal care.

1 .The ticks and worms certificate.
Some vets insist (in good faith) that their headed notepaper is good enough as proof of treatment against ticks and worms. This is simply wrong; only the approved forms will do. The blank forms can be photocopied provided that they are then completed in coloured ink (not black); if the final result looks like a photocopy it will be rejected by the carriers who have MAFF breathing down their necks and double-checking. These difficulties should disappear as the authentic forms beconie more readily accessible.

2.Blood Tests.
Some vets still insist on sending the blood samples only to their national laboratory and warn of long delays. This is not correct . They can use ANY of the ten approved laboratories in Europe; and the enterprising ones telephone to find the shortest turn-round time. (List of approved laboratories and approximate costs attached.)

3.French Certification.
There may again be problems over the first certificate - the UK entry certificate - for those living in France. The French have insisted on imposing their own system under which the only permitted sequence is tattoo, vaccine, blood test and finally microchip (they operate a national identity system based solely on the tattoo, although their intention is to give microchips at least equal validity in their national register next year). In the Pet Travel Scheme the microchip has to come first to prove that the vaccine and blood test relate to the right animal, but in a special concession the Ministry has accepted that in France the procedure can start with the tattoo, even though it is the microchip which will serve as the means of identification on entry. So the French certificates will now change to match the tattoo-first system although the earlier certificates (microchip first) will remain valid for the length of the validity of the rabies vaccine. In an ideal world this would create no problems, but we are apprehensive about how some French vets will understand and apply it.

4. The Export Licence.
Good news is in prospect. The French have accepted that the Pet Re-entry Certificate can serve as a health certificate provided that it is bilingual, so we are expecting the form to be re-issued to incorporate a French version (as already exists on the de-ticking and worming certificate.) It would be sensible to reach a similar accommodation with other EU countries on a multilingual version in order to dispose fin~i1Iy nf tha o~port ccrtifhatv, but tins may take longer. Agreement on an EU-wide pet health certificate is at least two years away. However, to get rid of the export certificate for entry to France will be a valuable first step. In the meantime we have not yet heard of anyone who has been asked to present an export certificate when travelling with their family pet.

5.Encrypted microchips
A member with an encrypted Avid microchip implanted in the US had difficulties when the chip could not be found. Avid’s own readers will find and read their encrypted chips but other readers evidently cannot. If you have an encrypted chip you may need to provide your own reader.

The start date for the “main scheme” (sometimes referred to as “full implementation”) is still set for 1 April 2001, but there have been several hints that it may come earlier. The Ministry is still discussing the qualifying rules with various countries. Our impression is that the outcome will depend in many cases on whether local pet owners push their governments to make a strong case for inclusion. One piece of good news, especially for British Service personnel: it is now definite that Cyprus will be included from the start of the main scheme (due in no small part to our pushing!)

The US and Canada have been deferred to a third stage, to be dealt with after the start of the main scheme i.e. in 2001. The eventual decision is to be linked to yet another risk assessment. Ministry officials still harp on about the extent of rabies in North American wild-life and the failure to eradicate the more immediately threatening dog rabies. BVA spokesmen talk darkly about the unreliability of veterinary certification in the US. Some quarantine kennels are continuing to earn fat profits from US families, particularly Servicemen. So the quarantine lobby is preparing for its last stand in defence of this source of income. On the positive side some of our US friends are now starting to push this issue hard and are making an impact on the British Government. We do not have the resources to mount our own campaign in North America but will shortly send suggested guidelines to those of you who have contacted us as possible co-ordinators.

The Ministry is aware that the regime, with its 48 hour/24 hour window, is very unwelcome to travellers and that, as the principal cause of failure at the checking points, it risks discrediting the travel scheme and blighting the good image which the Government has won for its reforms. The travel companies have joined us in driving this home. But the old hands in the Ministry argue that they can do nothing: the system has been imposed by the relevant committee of the Department of Health in order to safeguard the nation against the dreaded echinococcus multilocularis (which was almost unheard of 2 years ago but which is now alleged to be ravaging Switzerland and Germany.) One senior Ministry vet dismissed contemptuously the notion that inconvenience to travellers could weigh in the balance against such a supposedly grave threat to public health. Our requests for a considered factual risk assessment have been met by the blank assertion that nothing can be done because the information does not exist.

We are still looking for more effective ways of challenging the regime, but in the meantime are supporting the scheme put forward by Eurotunnel, the ferry companies and the RSPCA which would involve treatment shortly before embarking for the UK and, for those resident abroad or on long holidays, an earlier treatment about one month before travelling. The earlier treatment kills the worm and leads to the eggs being voided, the second treatment kills any newly acquired worm, which will not have had time to produce any eggs. This is a safer solution and gets rid of the ‘window’. It is a complex subject and we shall try to keep you informed as the argument develops. We are not yet convinced that increased pet travel constitutes a serious risk at all.

As far as the ticks are concerned, one important point has emerged. The treatment given just before an animal returns to the UK does nothing to protect it against ticks picked up earlier: we know of one dog which has died and another which was gravely ill after tick bites in France. So do get your pets protected before going abroad and if necessary (e.g. after swimming) again while you are there. The treatment given as part of the pet travel scheme is to protect the UK and in itself does nothing to protect your dog or cat while it is abroad. You should consult your vet about this. You may in any event want to protect your pets against ticks in the UK as they exist in the summer in many areas. The standard tick collar gives useful protection even though it is not considered good enough for the pet travel scheme.

THE CHANNEL ISLANDS

A service for pets in cars is now opening between Jersey/Guernsey and St Malo. Freedom of movement for pets is maintained between the Channel Islands and the UK mainland.

We have received some complaints about the charge made by the ferries and the Shuttle for processing dogs and cats - around £30 per animal for the crossing to the UK, or £15 each way We know this is an added burden, but the travel companies have had significant expenditure to set the system up and to keep it manned. It cannot be profitable for them until numbers increase, so we are not inclined to grumble at the present rates.

There is some profiteering in France, particularly around Calais. A fair charge for the tick and worm treatment and certificate is around Fr250 (£25) Some vets are doing it for less. The convenience factor enables some Calais vets to charge Fr 500 but anything more than this should be questioned. Some UK vets are milking the system at every stage: in this rabies-free country some want to be paid to certify that your pet has no visible signs of rabies, either for the pet re-entry certificate or for the export certificate, or even twice! Do tell your vet what YOU want (e.g. protection against ticks) and stop him or her trying to exploit the supposed requirements of a moribund branch of some foreign bureaucracy.

Do watch the expiry date on your re-entry certificate and get the rabies vaccine renewed in good time. You will then be issued with a new certificate. We know of quite a few which will run out during the summer holidays. Once it expires, even by one day, you have to have the rabies vaccine and the blood test again, followed by the six month wait before the certificate can be re­issued. The re-entry certificate is valid for as long as the validity of the rabies vaccine. DO NOT LET THIS EXPIRE. In the UK some rabies vaccines are valid for 2 years and the certificates should match them.

Happy Summer holidays for you and your pets wherever you may be travelling.

Chairman

Lady Mary Fretwell 

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

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