Dog travelling from Ireland to the UK and back

whydoibother

Good morning,

I would like to bring my dog to the UK in september. Would she need to be vaccinated for rabbies?

Does a blood test need to be done at least 6 months before the travel date? (that's the case in and out of France)

There is no info on the irish ferries website.

Many thanks

beveragelady

We did it in 2008 with two dogs. I made sure their normal vaccinations were up to date but that was it. On the way back we were quizzed for a bit in Holyhead as they wanted to be sure we hadn't left the UK. There's no rabies in Ireland or the UK, so animals can travel between them with relative ease.
Are you taking a car? I found the Irish Ferries lads very helpful about smuggling me down to the car deck to check on the dogs a couple of times on each crossing. I'd have much preferred to take them out of the car and walk the decks with them, no matter how blustery it was, but that wasn't possible. This might have changed, it's worth asking.
It might be worth looking into a gentle sedative too, depending on the temperament of your dog.

K.Flyer

Dept. Of Agriculture is the place for the answers
http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/pets/

Since 1st January 2012 there have been harmonised conditions for pet dogs, cats and ferrets that travel throughout the entire EU, including Ireland.
Pets entering Ireland from the EU will require:
Passport/certificate showing identification,
Subsequent rabies vaccination at least 21 days before entry.
Specific tapeworm treatment of all pet dogs.
Pets travelling from other qualifying (low risk) countries can also travel into Ireland on the same conditions as set out above. Details of qualifying countries can be found on our main website.

andreac

Yes there are new rules for travelling between ire and uk.
Your dog needs a pet passport which also requires the rabies vaccination 21days in advance.

If you go on to the dept of agriculture website there is plenty of info there about it.

whydoibother

Hi beveragelady,

yes, my preference would be irishferries - they are quicker ;-)

My concern is that I read somewhere that in 2012 laws changed... so am wondering if what you experienced in 2008 will be the same now even between uk and ireland - i know its a bit of a palaver between ireland/uk and europe...

thanks for your input

whydoibother

andreac wrote: »

Yes there are new rules for travelling between ire and uk.
Your dog needs a pet passport which also requires the rabies vaccination 21days in advance.

If you go on to the dept of agriculture website there is plenty of info there about it.

yes i knew that was the case between ireland and europe just not sure about between ireland and uk... such a pity...

anamaria

Does anyone know if moving a dog to Northern Ireland carries the same requirements as moving to the UK? I presume it does as it is in the UK but I imagine people are probably a bit more flexible as it's just a drive up the road.
Going to be moving in a few months so trying to check everything out

PeteK*

andreac wrote: »

Your dog needs a pet passport

But the post above yours quotes a passport or certificate.
My sister goes to the UK a few times a year on a boat.. they don't always use photo ID or have passports.

andreac

For a dog it's a pet passport. Maybe for other animals it's a cert. she might not use them but it is now a requirement and if you do get stopped and you don't have it, your dog can be taken off you and put into quarantine.

So it's not a risk I would take for the sake of around 60/70 euro as that's how much a passport is for the dog.
Read the link on the dept of agri cultures page. All the info is there.
I along with several other people travel regularly to the uk with our dogs as we show so we are aware of all the laws regarding this.

andreac

anamaria wrote: »

Does anyone know if moving a dog to Northern Ireland carries the same requirements as moving to the UK? I presume it does as it is in the UK but I imagine people are probably a bit more flexible as it's just a drive up the road.
Going to be moving in a few months so trying to check everything out

No, you will not need anything travelling to the north as there are no checks on the border. You do not need a passport for your dog going from NI into Uk as it is all part of the one. It's only uk into ire and vice versa.

muddypaws

anamaria wrote: »

Does anyone know if moving a dog to Northern Ireland carries the same requirements as moving to the UK? I presume it does as it is in the UK but I imagine people are probably a bit more flexible as it's just a drive up the road.
Going to be moving in a few months so trying to check everything out

Legally yes, it is the same, but I haven't seen it enforced anywhere along the border.

The pet passport rules changed EU wide a few years ago, including between Eire and the UK, but both jurisdictions issued statements that they wouldn't be enforcing the laws between the two. That changed last year when the UK authorities started checking and seizing dogs, so Eire then followed suit.

I believe though that it is changing again in January 2015, so that the pet passports won't be needed. Although I haven't heard anything about that for a while, so maybe its not going to now.

anamaria

muddypaws wrote: »

Legally yes, it is the same, but I haven't seen it enforced anywhere along the border.

The pet passport rules changed EU wide a few years ago, including between Eire and the UK, but both jurisdictions issued statements that they wouldn't be enforcing the laws between the two. That changed last year when the UK authorities started checking and seizing dogs, so Eire then followed suit.

I believe though that it is changing again in January 2015, so that the pet passports won't be needed. Although I haven't heard anything about that for a while, so maybe its not going to now.

That's good to know. Obviously I'll probably have to transfer all her vet records to a vet up there so want to do things by the book. Don't want it to come back to bite me in the ass later on!