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MINISTERS are preparing to allow dogs and cats from
the United States and Canada to enter Britain without suffering the
misery of six months in quarantine kennels.
They believe it is possible to extend
the two-year-old “pet passport” scheme, which operates for animals
travelling from the Continent, Australia, Japan and Hawaii, to North
America from next year.
The move will delight thousands of
American diplomatic and service families, as well as showbusiness stars
such as Elizabeth Taylor, who like to travel with their pets.
President Bush, who is frequently seen
leaving planes with his Scottish terrier, Barney, or his springer
spaniel, Spot, is among the high-profile figures who might benefit from
a relaxation in the quarantine law.
When Ms Taylor and Richard Burton
visited Britain during the 1960s they were forced to keep their four
beloved dogs aboard a yacht moored on the Thames.
Two years ago, when the actress was due
to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace for her investiture as a Dame,
she was upset to learn that Sugar, her white Maltese terrier, would
have to stay at home in spite of her best efforts to lobby Downing
Street.
Bill Clinton, the former President, was
said to have been upset when his beloved dog, Buddy, was kept out by
the law.
Elizabeth Hurley, the actress, is among
those who joined the campaign to change Britain’s quarantine laws,
writing to Tony Blair, after her alsatian, Nico, died in quarantine.
The singer Belinda Carlisle, the artist David Hockney and the musicians
Sting and Sir Elton John also joined the campaign.
Elliot Morley, the Animal Health
Minister, hopes to make a formal statement in June. Any new system,
however, must be foolproof and is likely to be stricter than that
approved under the present scheme.
The new plans follow two new studies of
the threat to Britain of rabies and other diseases if the draconian
antirabies laws are removed for pets from the US and Canada.
Animals travelling from North America
would be subject to the most stringent checks and identity controls. A
history of recent travel movements might also be required.
Scientific experts believe that it is
possible to relax the quarantine rules for pets, provided they have
been micro-chipped, vaccinated against rabies, and blood-tested to
ensure that the vaccine is effective. Pets must also be subject to
delousing and deworming treatments and a full veterinary inspection.
North American pets will also be obliged to register with a vet in
Britain to ensure that regular checks are made after arrival.
There is particular concern to ensure
that pets from North America do not carry diseases that can be passed
to human beings as well as other animals.
Joe Brownlie, Professor of Veterinary
Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College, said yesterday: “There would
have be a full veterinary check on every animal coming into the UK from
North America and rules insisting that owners register their pets with
a vet on arrival in the country.”
He said that rabies was rampant in the
United States, especially on the East Coast, and that every effort had
to be made to protect British wildlife from the disease.
The main threat to human beings was an
animal with ringworm, he said, but this skin infection was easily
spotted in a veterinary check. He was anxious, however, that pets from
North America could spread heartworm, which is a parasite that lives in
the blood and causes heart congestion, and brucella, a severe infection
that causes high fever and can trigger arthritis, though these
conditions, too, would be identified by a veterinary check.
These issues are now being discussed by
Whitehall’s Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens.
The Government has been under pressure
to reform the quarantine laws by the US Administration because many
people are now refusing British postings because of the anti-rabies
laws.
Peter Kurz, agriculture counsellor at
the US Embassy in London, said that diplomats were turning down the
chance to work in Britain because separation from a pet caused too much
family hardship.
He went to see Mr Morley last month to
urge a change in the law. There are 250,000 Americans in Britain.
Mr Kurz said that the risks of relaxing
the rules would be acceptable. “The people who want to bring in dogs
are responsible pet owners. We are not talking about stray dogs. These animals
are looked after and it can be quite an expensive proposition.”
Mr Kurz is a fan of the pet travel
scheme for he was able to bring in his dog, Claire, a bichon frisé,
from his last posting in Germany. “We were very glad because in the six
months when she would have been in quarantine she became ill with
cancer. She was able to spend the last part of her life with us,” he
said.
Last year, when William Farish was
appointed US Ambassador to Britain, he had to send his four-year-old
Maltese terrier, Cotton, on holiday to France for six months to qualify
for the pet passport scheme.
Lady Fretwell, founder of Passport for
Pets, the campaign against quarantine laws, is also anxious for an
early decision. Many British people returning home from the US want to
bring in their dogs.
Robin Weeks, 44, an advertising
executive, returned to London from Detroit a year ago but his
girlfriend, Wendy Medwed, and their three dogs are still in the US. The
couple do not wish to put their dogs, two French bulldogs and a boxer,
into quarantine. “The only other option is for my girlfriend to move to
France and live there for six months to bring in the dogs,” he said.
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