14 | companion

HOW TO
NAVIGATE THE
PET TRAVEL SCHEME
HOW TO
The Animal Health Rabies Operation branch, Chelmsford Animal Health Divisional
Office, offers essential advice for vets in practice as a follow-up to our June article
The Quarantine Question
companion | 15
HOW TO
NAVIGATE THE
PET TRAVEL SCHEME
T
he introduction of the UK Pet Travel
Scheme (PETS) on 28th February
2000 heralded a much campaigned
for end to a quarantine period being the
only option for cats and dogs travelling into
the UK with their owners. However there
was also a predictable fear factor in
potentially opening our shorelines to a
disease as notorious as rabies.
The scheme had a lot to prove in its
infancy. Was it robust enough to do a job
that had been effectively carried out for
generations by the convenience of being an
island coupled with a rigorous quarantine
system? Modern animal identification
techniques and effective vaccines meant that
the argument for maintaining quarantine,
for most cats and dogs, from many
countries, was becoming obsolete and less
durable. However the alternative had to
provide the same level of protection that
quarantine had given for so long.
Todays scheme
The current legislation is now governed by
an EC Regulation, which covers the
non-commercial movement of pet animals
between listed qualifying countries. The
UK, Republic of Ireland, Malta and Sweden
have been allowed to retain, for a
transitional period, additional requirements
for blood sampling and parasite treatment
that were already included in their
domestic legislation at the time the
Regulation came into force.
Eight years on the success of the
scheme, and popularity with the pet owning
public, is due in part to its simplicity.
The 4 key steps to the
successful entry into the UK
Step 1: Identification
Firstly an animal must be unquestionably
identifiable as that described in the
documentation accompanying it. The form
of identification must be tamper proof and
unique. These criteria are met by the
subcutaneous implantation of a microchip.
Step 2: Vaccination
The animal is vaccinated against rabies. In
order to show that the vaccine has provided
an adequate level of immunity, a blood test
is taken and sent to a recognised laboratory.
The sample must indicate a neutralising
antibody titration at least equal to 0.5 IU/ml.
Step 3: 6-month waiting period
To be sure that the antibody level indicated
by the blood test is due to the vaccine
rather than exposure to disease, the animal
must remain in a qualifying country for
6 months from the date that a blood
sample which gives a satisfactory result
was taken to ensure clinical signs of disease
do not develop.
Step 4: Additional requirements
The Department of Health have added in
additional treatments for ticks and
tapeworms 2448 hours before checking in
to travel to the UK. This aims to prevent
the entry to the UK of other exotic
zoonotic diseases that can be carried by
cats and dogs. The treatment must be
administered by a vet practising in the
country of treatment. Section VI of the
passport must then be completed by this
vet, specifying the manufacturer of the
treatment, the product used and the date
and time of treatment. This entry must be
signed and stamped by the vet. Collars
impregnated with acaricide should not be
used. In the case of Echinococcus
multilocularis treatment, the same details
must also be recorded in Section VII of the
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HOW TO
passport. This treatment must contain
praziquantel as the active ingredient.
This 4-step procedure, the order of
which is paramount, ensures that the cat or
dog in question poses no disease risk to the
human and animal population of the UK.
Success or failure?
Eight years on, what are the main problems
that have arisen with the scheme?
Unfortunately simplicity often creates
the most complexity. It is the responsibility
of the authorised carrier, be it a ferry
company, Eurotunnel or airline, to ensure
that the pets they transport comply with
the requirements of the scheme. Animal
Health audit checks of these carriers have
identified some problem areas with the
scheme as well some unexpected surprises.
So, what can the practising veterinary
surgeon, struggling with a flow of clients
keen to travel hassle-free with their pets,
learn from the problems encountered in
the past?
Worm and tick worries
Approximately 65% of pets entering the UK
come through the South Eastern seaports
or channel tunnel. Animal Health at Dover
audits these particular routes, and its
experience in dealing with queries is likely
to provide a representative insight into
what requirements of the scheme have
created the most queries.
Over the last 12 months 50% of the
queries have related to problems with tick
and tapeworm treatments. This can involve
one treatment missing, type of treatments
not recorded, date or time of treatment
missing, or wrong date and time recorded.
The best advice a UK vet can give a client is
to ensure they visit a veterinary surgeon in
the country of departure to receive
appropriate treatment and to check that
Section VI and VII of the passport have
been completed with the correct and
complete information. Clients should also
be made fully aware of the window of travel
time and any treatments that are not
acceptable under the legislation.
Blood concerns
Seventeen percent (17%) of queries related
to the blood test. Information may be
missing from the passport or may be
incorrectly entered. A proportion of blood
sample queries will be due to owners
attempting to travel before the 6-month
waiting time has elapsed. Advice in this case
should be to ensure that Section V of the
passport has been completed with the date
of sampling and signed and stamped by the
vet. Making clients aware of the 6-month
waiting period is the responsibility of the
veterinary surgeon and stressing this point
to avoid misunderstanding can prevent an
unpleasant souring of the vetclient
relationship in the future.
Microchip mistakes
Microchip problems constitute 11% of
queries. The date of insertion may not have
been appropriately recorded or may have
been incorrect. Unfortunately there are
also times when a microchip will fail. It is
prudent for a veterinary surgeon to check
that the microchip is working properly
during routine visits to the surgery and
always before an entry is made in the
passport, such as before a rabies
vaccination booster is administered.
In the event of a chip failure it is vital
that the correct procedure is followed to
ensure continuity of identification. The failed
microchip must be located and removed
under anaesthetic. A new microchip must be
implanted at the same time and the details
of that new chip recorded in the passport.
The veterinary surgeon should then send
the failed chip to the manufacturer who will
confirm the failure and provide documentary
evidence that the number corresponds to
that originally recorded in the passport.
Once the vet is in possession of this
evidence, a declaration should be made in
section XI (Others) of the passport to
indicate that the original chip was removed
and replaced with another microchip on the
same date and that the manufacturers have
confirmed the number of the original chip
that could not be read. If this procedure is
followed the scheme does not need to be
re-started.
Process problems
Confusion over the order of progression
through steps 1 to 3 accounts for 8% of
queries. In some of these cases, actions will
NAVIGATE THE
PET TRAVEL SCHEME
companion | 17
HOW TO
genuinely have been performed in the
wrong order but in a significant proportion
the pet owner states the dates recorded in
the passport are incorrect and may either
have supporting documentation with them
or be able to obtain correct information
from the vet.
Where the veterinary surgeon has not
followed the correct order of preparation
there is no choice but to re-start the
scheme. This will include a repeat rabies
vaccination and adherence to the 6-month
waiting time following a satisfactory blood
test result before the pet is eligible for
travel into the UK. This will include a repeat
rabies vaccination and adherence to the
6-month waiting time following a
satisfactory blood test result before the
pet is eligible for travel into the UK.
Proper procedures
There cannot be many more unpleasant
ways to end a trip abroad than to be told
that your pet will have to remain in
quarantine for 6 months. The only way to
avoid this eventuality is for the vet issuing
the passport to ensure that the procedure
has been followed correctly and if not take
any appropriate action, advise the client
that their pet is not eligible to travel and for
what period of time.
If there is any doubt enquiries should be
made to ensure that all dates entered in the
passport are correct and reflect the correct
order of preparation. The remainder of the
queries regard the inaccurate recording/
missing of the vaccination valid until dates
or in circumstances where the vaccine
appears to have expired. Careful recording
of all necessary information should avoid
this problem.
Avoiding the issues
To avoid the problems listed above it is
paramount that the vet ensures that all
information is completed accurately and
indicates correct order of preparation and
full compliance with requirements for entry
to the UK.
Out of the control of the UK veterinary
practitioner, but of real concern, is the
importation of a breed or type of dog listed
NAVIGATE THE
PET TRAVEL SCHEME
under the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA).
Unfortunately as the range of countries
participating in the scheme has increased,
dogs that may be considered pit bull types
have been brought to the attention of
Animal Health by the authorised carriers.
These dogs may be described in their
passports as American Bulldog, American
Staffordshire or Irish Staffordshire Bull
Terriers but the difficulty encountered is that
if the dog is PETS compliant, there is little
Animal Health can do. At present there is no
provision within the existing DDA to prevent
the importation of such dogs. All that Animal
Health can do in these cases is to refer the
details of the dog, including photographs, to
the police at the final destination who, along
with the district local authority, are the
competent authority named in the DDA to
act on this information.
Owner tactics
People will always be passionate about their
pets and unfortunately normally law-abiding
citizens may feel the need to take illegal
action to ensure their pet remains in their
possession and avoids quarantine. Owners
may be fully aware that their pet does not
qualify for entry to the UK and will still
attempt to travel with them, hiding them in
vehicles and not declaring their presence.
Thankfully these incidences are rare.
What now?
At the time of writing, the EC Regulation
governing the movement of non-commercial
pet animals is under review. The transitional
period that allowed the UK to retain the
additional requirements for entry has been
extended but there is no guarantee that
these will be kept indefinitely. If we are
required to harmonise with other Member
States there is a chance that the blood
sampling and tick and tapeworm treatment
procedures will be removed.
However that is for the future. For now,
the Pet Passport Scheme has proved itself
to be an effective method of disease
control. It has allowed pets are now able to
travel with their families around the world,
and more importantly, to come home again.
As long as issuing veterinary surgeons are
conversant with the requirements and able
to make these clear to their client, the
successful outcome will see many more
travelling pets in the future.
For more information, including
factsheets for distribution to clients, visit
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/
quarantine/index.htm
When pit bull type dogs are identified at Dover during entry into the UK, the local
authority and police at its destination are informed