Certification. 

If you are travelling abroad with your pet, you may be required to present legal documentation regarding your pet’s health when crossing certain borders. This certification can only be completed by certain vets and within a very specific timeframe.

 

When relocating to another country or holidaying abroad it is often the case that we want to take our companion animals with us. But travelling with pets can be a very complicated process! Not only do you have to consider how you are going to travel with them and how to keep them comfortable for what will be a long and unfamiliar journey but there are also important legal requirements for pet travel.

 

Every country will have different entry requirements, and these can also differ depending on your pets’ age, species, and the number of pets you are travelling with. A certificate regarding these requirements must be filled in by an ‘Official Veterinarian’ with important information ownership, microchip details, vaccination, and worming status. Sometimes, additional testing is required that needs to be performed months in advance of travel. Final certification is usually completed between 10 days and 1 day prior to travel depending on the destination. To fill in these certificates we need time and detailed planning as they are legal documents, and they must be correct and complete for your travel to go ahead. The process in the UK is regulated by the government department DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Please follow the link below for further information of how to contact DEFRA and specific requirements for travel to different countries.

 

Please find some more detailed information on the subject in the document below and if you do wish to discuss the process of taking your pet abroad then please do not hesitate to contact Phoenix Vets Loughborough or visit https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad.