Pet Passports

If you are planning to take your pet abroad on holiday with you they need to have their own pet passport.

The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) allows dogs, cats and ferrets to travel abroad to many different stipulated destinations and then return to the UK without the need for a 6 month quarantine period.

The Pet Travel Scheme has been set up in order to help protect the UK from serious diseases, such as rabies, which are present in other countries but not currently seen in the UK.

There are a number of steps to be completed before your pet can be issued with a passport which include:

The animal must have a microchip inserted
Then vaccinated against rabies
28 days after the vaccination date the animal must be blood sampled to ensure rabies protection is complete

It is important to note that the animal may then only return to the UK 6 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE THAT A SUCCESSFUL BLOOD TEST WAS TAKEN.

So if you are planning to travel abroad with your pet please be aware that you need to leave enough time to complete the process. It takes at least 7 months for completion of the scheme to ensure your pet can re-enter the UK.

Please also be aware that in order to ensure you have a valid PETS passport your pets rabies vaccination must be kept up to date. They must receive booster vaccinations within the date stipulated in the passport to avoid having to repeat the blood sampling process. A lapse in rabies vaccinations will mean the 6 month rule for re-entry to the UK will apply once again.

Ticks and Tapeworms

When coming home to the UK your pet must be treated against ticks and tapeworms. This must be done by an authorised vet and with a recognised veterinary product, and must be carried out not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before checking in with your PETS authorised carrier to begin your journey home to the UK.

Please see the DEFRA PETS page for more information and lists of participating countries.