Vocal Voices

Mrs S has been giving me chapter and verse about how the UK government is failing us over the pet travel scheme. Even the local in France is pedalling this stuff with.

The UK government's Brexit web page is therefore now telling pet owners: "From 1 January 2021 you will not be able to use the existing pet passport scheme. Instead you’ll need to follow a different process, which takes 4 months.

"To make sure your pet is able to travel from the UK to the EU from 1 January 2021, you should contact your vet at least 4 months before travelling to get the latest advice."

But what does the document actually say??

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel- ... ter-brexit

To make sure your pet is able to travel from Great Britain to the EU from 1 January 2021, you should contact your vet at least 4 months before travelling to get the latest advice.

If the UK does receive Part 1 or 2 listed status, some of these requirements will no longer apply and this guidance will be updated.

Well that sort of fits doesn't it. If you don't read any further that is.

There will be no change to the current health preparations for pets entering Great Britain from the EU from 1 January 2021.

Your pet must have one of the following documents when returning to Great Britain:

an EU pet passport (issued in the EU or in the UK before 1 January 2021)

Erm, so the UK is being difficult? I think not.

f you’re living in the EU and plan to travel with your pet using a UK-issued pet passport, you should speak to your vet. They’ll help to ensure you’re compliant with EU Pet Travel Regulations.

If you have a pet passport issued by an EU member state, you can use it to bring your pet to Great Britain.

You can also use it to return to the EU, as long as your pet has had a successful rabies antibody blood test.

Right so if you have a pet passport issued in the EU, with a rabies vaccination and a 30 day blood test, you can get it back to the EU again. Given that you can't get into the UK with an EU pet passport, unless it has a valid rabes test, this is a given. So long as you keep the rabes up to date (we do), then you can travel from and to France unhindered.

The press advice, for those who have a home in France or live in France, is bollocks.

It's all down on the UK government, doing the wrong thing, not looking after our citizens, changing processes.

In fact it is the EU who won't process our request for listed status unless we give in to their demands on controlling the UK.

Nice to know we get the facts, first hand and they are correct....

We have one dog with a UK passport and one with an EU one. We will convert the UK one to an EU one before the year ends. It's almost out of pages anyway.

Erm, the advice dated the 10th of August is from a UK.gov website so is primarily aimed at UK citizens. The overwhelming majority of them will have pet passports issued in the UK and the four month period starts in just five days. Act now or be prepared for a different process is the advice.

Will we know within five days whether the UK has been granted Pt 1 or Pt 2 listed status? There are no indications on the site of any imminent announcement so probably not. We made a choice and have left the EU so are already a third country and are being treated as such, same as all the rest, that's how things are.

The government website covers both UK citizens leaving the UK and returning to the UK. The local in France reported only the UK centric view and none of them really presented the real situation.

It is not as bad as it seems but planning is required.

It only requires that the rabies is verified in an EU lab, which could be done in Ireland. The current vaccene is for 3 years and boosters do not require testing, just certifying. So long as you have the correct paperwork, it is not as bad as presented.