Sadly, the behemoth that is Brexit has not left our furry-friends untouched. In the event of a “no deal” Brexit on March 29th, there will be changes regarding pet travel. Because Great Britain will no longer be a part of the European Union, it can longer avail of the handy European pet Passport system we have used for the past number of years.
The Department of Agriculture released a statement a number of days ago outlining what will happen for Irish pets travelling to and from Britain – I will do my best here to clarify what the guidelines are.
if you’re travelling to Great Britain on holidays with your pet and returning to Ireland, your pet dog/cat/ferret must:
- Be microchipped before its first rabies vaccination
- Be vaccinated against rabies
- Have an EU pet passport or an EU health cert*
- Have a rabies titration test (blood test)**
- Dogs will need to be given treatment against tapeworm by a vet, before re-entering Ireland.
- Anyone bringing a pet dog, cat or ferret into Ireland from Great Britain will have to give the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine advance notice by email before arrival.
For return to Ireland, you’ll need an EU pet passport (not a UK-issued EU pet passport) or an EU health cert issued by a UK government vet. You will not be able to return to Ireland on an EU pet passport issued in the UK, but you should hold on to a UK-issued pet passport if you have one, as it may have important information about vaccinations and other treatments.
**You must wait at least 30 days after the rabies vaccine was administered before the blood test can be carried out. The Department emphasised that you should arrange this test in Ireland before you travel.
This is because if the test is administered in Great Britain after 29 March, the pet would have to wait three months from the date the successful rabies titration test was carried out before it can travel to Ireland.
If you’re travelling from Great Britain to Ireland with your pet, your dog/cat/ferret must:
- Be microchipped before its first rabies vaccination
- Be vaccinated against rabies
- Have an EU pet passport (not a UK-issued EU pet passport) OR if you don’t have an EU pet passport, an EU health cert issued by a UK government vet***
- Have a rabies titration test (blood test)**
- Dogs will need to be given treatment against tapeworm by a vet
- Anyone bringing a pet dog, cat or ferret into Ireland from GB will have to give the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine advance notice by email before arrival.
**You must wait at least 30 days after the rabies vaccine was administered before the blood test can be carried out. If the test is administered in Great Britain after 29 March, the pet would have to wait three months from the date the successful rabies titration test was carried out before it can travel to Ireland.
***You will not be able to travel to the EU on an EU pet passport issued in the UK, but you should hold on to a UK-issued pet passport if you have one, as it may have important information about vaccinations and other treatments.
If you’re moving to Great Britain with your pet and not returning to Ireland, the situation is mostly in the UK’s hands, so you might need to wait and see what kind of Brexit we get, and what the UK government says you’ll need to enter.
It is a complicated situation and sadly we have no answers about what exactly will happen regarding pet travel on March 29th. My best advice if you are planning to travel to the UK after March 29th is to plan well in advance!
We will keep you updated on all things Brexit once we know what the new legislation will be.
