If you have any pets, it’s not just yourself you need to consider before you move away from home! In the past, if you wanted to bring any animals when you moved to the UK, you had to put them into ‘quarantine’ before you could take them to your new home.

Risks for your pets

‘Quarantine’ is where your unlucky pets are kept in a secured area for six months before they are allowed to stay in the country. This is to stop diseases carried by animals, like rabies, from spreading to Britain.

Fortunately, in 2000, the pet travel scheme (PETS) was introduced. This allows you to some pets to the UK without quarantine, provided you follow certain rules before you travel. It applies to specific domestic animals being brought from within the EU, and other qualifying countries.

Once you have had your animal certificated (see below), you must also check that your animal is being brought into the country by an authorised route and transport company.  And you must let the company know in advance that your pet is going to be travelling with you!

Dogs, cats and ferrets 

If you have a dog, a cat, or a ferret, you have to get them their own ‘pet passport’.  This proves that your pet is free of disease and is therefore safe to enter the UK.

You can only do this if you are travelling from the EU, or from another qualifying country listed at the bottom of this article, and your pet must not have left that country within six months of coming to the UK. Otherwise, your pet will have to go into quarantine.

To get the pet passport, you must have your animal:

1) Microchipped - so it can be identified
2) Vaccinated against rabies
3) Blood tested – six months before you arrive in the UK.
4) Treated against ticks and tapeworms more than 24 hours and less than 48 hours before you travel.

If your pet passes through a non-EU or unlisted country during its journey to the UK, you must:

1) Make sure that your pet remains within the perimeter of the airport of that country, or secured within the vessel if travelling by sea.
2) Confirm this by getting a letter of proof from the transport company.

Rabbits and rodents 

There are no restrictions on bringing rabbits or rodents (such as mice, hamsters and gerbils) to the UK provided that you are coming from an EU country, or any of the countries listed below:

Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican

If you are travelling from a country other than these, your pet will be taken into quarantine for 6 months before it is allowed to stay in the country.

All other animals 

Certain birds, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles are also allowed to travel to the UK under the PETS travel scheme without quarantine. However, the rules have not been set by the EU, so these come under the national import rules.

So, if you have one of these or any other animal not mentioned above, you need to obtain an import license. To find out what you need to do for your particular pet call the National Animal Import Office.

Whatever sort of animal you are bringing with you, always check with your travel company that they are willing to transport your pet! Also, only certain companies are allowed to carry certain animals, and they must also be on authorised routes.

For general information on bringing your pets to the UK, you should contact the UK government department, Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs. 

Non-EU qualifying countries (for cats, dogs and ferrets): 

Andorra, Fiji, New Caledonia, Antigua & Barbuda, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Argentina, Grenadines, Norway, Aruba, Guam Russian Federation, Ascension Island, Hawaii, St Helena, Australia, Hong Kong, St Kitts & Nevis Bahrain, Iceland,  St Pierre & Miquelon, Barbados, Jamaica, St Vincent, Belarus, Japan, San Marino, Bermuda, Liechtenstein, Singapore, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Malaysia, Switzerland, British Virgin Islands, Mauritius, Taiwan, Canada, Mayotte, Trinidad and Tobago, Cayman Islands, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Chile, Monaco, USA, Croatia, Montserrat, Vanuatu, Falkland Islands, Netherlands, Antilles, Vatican, Wallis & Futuna

By Matt Taylor

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USEFUL WORDS

Different Types of Pets
cat
dog
hamster
gerbil
rabbit
budgie
goldfish
parrot
tortoise

walk a dog / take a dog for a walk
to look after someone’s pet while they’re away
boarding cattery / kennels = a place where cats/dogs live temporarily when they can't stay at their own home
pet passport = a document which proves that your pet has had the required vaccinations to be able to travel abroad
microchip = a small electronic device put under the skin of an animal as a way of identifying it
rabies = an animal disease (which can also be passed to humans) which causes madness and death
blood test = an examination of a small amount of an animal’s blood by a vet in order to make judgements about the animal’s medical condition
carrying container / carrier = a special box for transporting animals
 

Noises Pets Make
Cats mew when they’re hungry, purr when they’re happy and caterwaul when they’re on the roof at midnight.
Dogs bark.  They also growl when they’re angry.
Birds chirp and sing.
Some parrots mimic human speech.

GRAMMAR SPOT

The –ing form…

…can be used as a noun and can be the subject of a sentence:
Owning a pet is very rewarding.

…can also come after the main verb:
I like walking my dog early in the morning.

…is used after prepositions:
After taking my cat to the cattery I drove to the airport.

Many adjectives and verbs are followed by a preposition + -ing:
We were very interested in finding some tropical fish.
I’m thinking of getting another cat.
I look forward to getting home and seeing my dog.