An enlightened approach to pet travel
CAW welcomes an enlightened approach to pet travel.
The Pet Travel Scheme for cats, dogs and ferrets was introduced in February 2002. The scheme has been a great success and the present Pet Passport arrangements have permitted many people to take their pets to Europe and back. Conversely many European pets have been able to enter the UK and return home with their owners.
At the time of the original scheme rabies was still endemic in parts of what is now Europe and the efficacy of a vaccination policy was little understood at that time.
In 2011 Europe is theoretically rabies free and the very great worries that were considered in 2000 are largely for historical discussion. When UK joined the Pet Passport Scheme we required additional restrictions regarding the treatment of animals for internal and external parasites
We welcome the moves to remove the very restrictive time scale for the administration of worm treatment prior to travel and look forward to a system of parasite control that is both more animal friendly and pet owner friendly. It is important that we protect the UK from endemic Echinococcus multilocularis (one specific type of tape worm) but feel certain that this can be undertaken within a more animal and owner friendly regime.
CAW therefore supports the changes to the Pet Travel Scheme to be introduced on January 1st 2012 believe that this will be welcomed by pet owners wishing to take their pets to and from Europe.
CAW welcomes the changes announced by Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman this morning regarding pets coming in from listed non-EU countries such as the USA and Australia.
We also welcome the changes in import regulations from non-EU countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa.
These changes will prevent many pets from being in quarantine for 6 months which we do not believe is necessary in the present day. The vaccination policies outlined by Secretary Spelman do, we believe, offer an enlightened and animal friendly alternative to a quarantine system that is outdated without reducing the protection to the UK
We await the conclusion of discussions with the EU Commission regarding protection from Echinococcus multilocularis without the very restrictive arrangements that are currently in force. We welcome the suggestion that dogs should be treated with appropriate antiparaciticides within a few days of the date of entry into the UK.
The microchipping of all dogs animals entering the country should be extended to include all dogs within the UK. We welcome the animal friendly policies being introduced by the Government and hope that by requiring that all dogs in the UK are microchipped as requisite of ownership many of the dog related anti-social problems could be better controlled.
RWB
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