We are urging pet owners across the county to act now if they\u2019re planning to travel to the European Union (EU) later this year.<\/p>\n
Iain Fletcher, clinical director here at Spinney Vets, is concerned a no-deal Brexit could scupper the current agreement which allows free travel across the EU for dogs, cats and ferrets with pet passports.<\/p>\n
Iain, who is based at our hospital on Kettering Road, has highlighted Government advice which warns it could take around four months for pets and their owners to comply with much stricter travel criteria applied to non-EU countries.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe government guidelines say it\u2019s unlikely a current EU pet passport will be valid for travel if Britain leaves without a deal on October 31.<\/p>\n
\u201cTransferring to the arrangements for non-EU countries would require all pets receive a rabies vaccination, followed by a blood test at least 30 days later to prove they are immune.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pet would still have to wait a minimum of three months from the date of that blood test before they could travel, making the process at least four months in total.<\/p>\n
\u201cOwners would also have to obtain a health certificate from their vet, which couldn\u2019t be issued more than 10 days before travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all means that taking pets abroad could become a long, drawn-out process, so I would urge owners to get their animals booked in with us as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen delays.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information on the government\u2019s current guidelines on EU travel with pets after Brexit, visit: www.gov.uk\/guidance\/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit<\/a>.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll also post any important updates on our Facebook page if-and-when they become available. If you don\u2019t already, search for Spinney Vets and give us a follow for all our latest news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We are urging pet owners across the county to act now if they\u2019re planning to travel to the European Union (EU) later this year. Iain Fletcher, clinical director here at… <\/p>\n