Passports for Pets 
still needs your help

The Pet Travel Scheme is a major  step forward. The system is working, indeed expanding, but it still has defects which could be remedied without causing  any health hazard.

OUR CURRENT OBJECTIVES

• Tick and worm treatment
  This affects every traveller bringing in a pet dog or cat under the Pet Travel Scheme.  The system is highly  inconvenient  with a window of 48 hours maximum and 24 hours minimum  before travel for treatment. The Swedes have a similar  tick and worm requirement but with a more user- friendly window of 10 days. We would like to see more time allowed between treatment and travel to the UK.

• UK International Search & Rescue Dogs
  We have been working closely with the Search and Rescue Dogs organisation Rapid UK to try and push forward an exemption for rescue dogs returning to the UK after deployment to countries like Pakistan or Sri Lanka which are outside the DEFRA approved list of Countries. They face 6 months quarantine on their return. All other EU Rescue dogs do not have these restrictions. The UK rescue dogs are correctly prepared under the PET Travel Scheme and have had all the vaccinations, blood test and microchip. Rapid UK want your help to fight for a change in the law. Please visit their website and follow the links to send an e-mail to your MP to lobby for change http://www.rapid.org.uk/index.cgi?content=97 

• Cost of airline travel into the UK
  Taking your  pet with you by air out of the UK is not expensive and some airlines allow the smaller pet to travel with you in the cabin.  Alas this is not so for the return journey as they have to comply with Ministry(DEFRA) regulations stating that all incoming  pets whether entering quarantine or entering the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme must travel in the hold as cargo.  This means that the charges  are high, often four to five times more than it costs to take your pet out of the UK.

• Eurostar
  Eurostar, unlike Le Shuttle, is not pet friendly.  Owners cannot travel with their pet dog or cat on Eurostar  from Waterloo or Ashford. After much pressure and long  negotiations  Assistance  dogs have been accepted, for which we are grateful. But why cannot  they move forward and allow the pet paying owner to have this choice.  Bookings could  be done in advance and should  not be difficult to handle with the pet owner bearing the costs of this service. Contact Eurostar  and make your  views known. Customer Relations telephone  number:   01777 777 879

• Welfare standards in quarantine kennels
  Quarantine kennels still operate a voluntary  code of practice despite legislation  being passed by Parliament in 1998 (The Paul Flynn  Bill) allowing the Government to impose statutory regulations on these kennels. Nothing has been done and these powers have not been implemented.  WHY NOT? Meanwhile dogs and cats entering quarantine do not have the protection they require during their six months incarceration.

 

All of these questions  you can  raise with your Member of Parliament, and with the airlines and Eurostar  direct.

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

or write to our London address:

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