[nfb-talk] New rules mean it will be easier and cheaper to travel to the United Kingdom with Guide Dogs

[Peter Donahue]

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