[nagdu] Fw: [nabs-l] New rules mean it will be easier and cheaper to travel tothe United Kingdom with Guide Dogs

Tue Nov 22 14:15:33 UTC 2011

Wow, this is great!
I suppose that northern Ireland follows UK rules, and probably Ireland
follows EU rules?
If not, well, I'd love to visit Scotland!  I can picture it now, walking
in the Highlands with my hound.
Tracy

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com>
> To: <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>; <nfbsatx at nfbnet.org>;
> <travelandtourism at nfbnet.org>; <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, November 21, 2011 12:06 PM
> Subject: [nabs-l] New rules mean it will be easier and cheaper to travel
> tothe United Kingdom with Guide Dogs
>
>
> Hello everyone,
>
>
>
>                 Some recent discussions on one of our list got my
> curiosity
> up concerning travel to certain countries like the United Kingdom with a
> guide dog. There have been special procedures in place for a number of
> years
> that permit guide dogs from certain countries to enter or return to the UK
> without having to undergo quarantine and to accompany their owners in the
> airplane cabin on the inbound flight. I was not prepared to read what
> appears below. Beginning on January 2012 the door of opportunity for
> travel
> to the UK with guide dogs as well as pets even from previously unlisted
> countries where quarantine was required upon arrival in the UK will change
> making the movement of pets and guide dogs in to the UK and the European
> Union much easier. Hawaii take note! Here is the press release:
>
>
>
> From the Web Site:
>
> http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/06/30/new-rules-pet-passports/
>
>
>
>
> New rules mean it will be easier and cheaper to travel abroad with pets
>
>
> It will become cheaper and easier to travel abroad with pets when new
> rules
> are introduced at the start of next year.
>
> The UK will harmonise its pet movement rules with the rest of the European
> Union from 1 January 2012, bringing the UK's Pet Travel Scheme into line
> with the most recent science. The UK will maintain its high level of
> protection against animal diseases after the changes, which have the
> potential to save pet owners around £7 million in fees.
>
> Forcing pets to spend six months in quarantine, a practice dating from the
> 1800s, is no longer necessary because of vastly improved rabies vaccines
> and
> treatments.
>
> All pets will still need to be vaccinated against rabies. Pets from the EU
> and listed non-EU countries such as the USA and Australia will no longer
> need a blood test and will only have to wait 21 days before they travel.
> Pets from unlisted non-EU countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa
> will be able to enter the UK if they meet certain strict criteria to
> ensure
> they are protected against rabies, including a blood test and a
> three-month
> wait before they enter the UK.
>
> The changes will ensure the risk of rabies coming to the UK remains
> extremely low. It's estimated that the new rules mean there would be one
> case of rabies in a pet in the UK once every 211 years, with the
> possibility
> of a person dying from rabies obtained from a pet once in every 21,000
> years.
>
> Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said:
>
> "The UK's quarantine system was designed to combat the threat of rabies in
> the 19th century and has now been left far behind by scientific advances.
> It's time we changed these outdated rules which have caused hardship to
> generations of pets and pet owners, and those who rely on assistance dogs,
> with too many animals cooped up unnecessarily.
>
> "What is needed is a simpler, evidence-based system for protecting the UK
> from rabies which recognizes the actual risk to pets and pet owners. The
> EU's pet movement scheme has been working very well for nearly a decade,
> and
> it makes sense for us to have similar rules. It means the UK will remain
> protected from rabies and other exotic diseases while making it easier and
> cheaper for people to take their pets abroad."
>
> Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said:
>
> "Rabies is a very serious human disease and the rabies-free status of the
> UK
> must be protected. The pet travel scheme provides important protection of
> public health by ensuring that pets entering the UK are free of rabies and
> other infections.
>
> "Scientific evidence shows that there is a robust alternative to
> quarantine
> in preventing rabies incursion from those countries where there is a high
> incidence of rabies and good reason for changing our very precautionary
> rules. The EU pet travel rules have been successful in preventing any
> cases
> of rabies occurring in legally moved pets since the scheme started, so
> harmonizing the UK's rules with those of the EU will make it easier for
> those who wish to travel with their pets.
>
> "It is important to continue to protect the public against the risk of
> serious exotic tapeworm infections and the government is pressing to
> retain
> our tapeworm controls for pets entering the UK. The wider public health
> risks from exotic tick-borne infections and the need for tick controls for
> pets entering the UK will be kept under review."
>
> The UK has been discussing with the European Commission the most
> appropriate
> form of tapeworm controls for dogs, to ensure the UK continues to be
> protected from Echinococcus multilocularis. The Commission has recently
> indicated that its proposals, expected shortly, would enable the UK and
> other tapeworm-free countries to retain tapeworm controls, with a
> requirement that animals be treated between one and five days before
> returning to the UK.
>
> Tick treatment for pet animals returning to the UK will no longer be
> required. All pet owners travelling abroad with their animals should
> discuss
> with their vets the use of treatments, including those designed to control
> ticks as part of good animal health practice.
>
> The UK, along with Ireland, Sweden and Malta, has an exemption from the
> standard EU pet travel rules. They are all harmonizing their entry rules
> with the rest of the EU at the same time as the UK.
>
>
>
> Peter Donahue
>
>
>
>
>
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