We want to bring out cat to Corfu at the beginning of season and bring it back at the end of season too. Am I right in thinking if you want to bring the same cat back to the UK they have to go in quanentine for 6 months?
Message posted by Graham T-A on 08 December 2009 at 9:14am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
Not if you start the passport 7 months before you return to the UK.The cat will need a chip and a rabies injection and then approx 4 weeks later it will have to have a blood sample taken for analysis. If this is OK then six months later the cat can be brought back into the UK. It will require only worm and tick treatment by a vet between 24 hours and 48 hours before entering the UK. I would suggest you start this process as soon as possible so that if for any reason you have to return early the six months will be completed.
The cat can leave the UK and travel to Greece 3 weeks after the injection even without the blood test results.
Message posted by km on 08 December 2009 at 11:51am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
No, But the rabies vacine has to be repeated. This is a little difficult to explain but I will try. In the UK the jab lasts 3 years but in Greece and everywhere else in europe it only lasts 1 year so although you can continue to bring the catback into the UK for three years with a UK passport and a UK vets signature you cannot get the repeat injection done anywhere else in Europe once the first year is up as they only accept 1 year. The repeat injection must be done within the time and if it goes one day over you need to repeat the whole 6 month process.
Message posted by km on 08 December 2009 at 12:55pm - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
If I understand this correctly then the rabies vaccine has to be repeated yearly (not a day over) but how about a few days earlier? Or does it have to be 12 months to the day exactly? So to bring a cat/dog into the UK is possible if the animal has been vaccinated within the last 3 years? What about getting a pet passport here in Corfu? Would it be acceptable to the UK authorities? Do you have your cats/dogs vaccinated yearly Graham? Sorry for all the questions.....
Message posted by Graham T-A on 08 December 2009 at 1:28pm - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
Our cat has a Greek passport (she was a greek feral beach cat) so the injections have to be done every year. Even when we go to the English vet with the Greek passport it is validated only for one year. The injection can be done anytime before the year is up but not a day over. If she had a UK passport and the injection had been done in the UK and the passport stamped by the vet saying it lasted three years then it would allow her to only have an injection every three years in the UK to allow her to enter the UK. I have been trying to find out if the three years is valid in europe as the Italians seem to be getting interested in the animal passports now and was told that the three years would not be valid to enter Italy.
She travels between Corfu and England two or three times a year on her Greek passport and has entered the UK about eight times now. I always get the chip checked before we leave Corfu as they sometimes fail, which would be a major upset if we reached Calais and could not then bring her in. I hope all this makes sense to you as it's all a bit complicated as the UK still hasn't complied with the EU rulings and still does it's own thing.
Message posted by km on 08 December 2009 at 1:44pm - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
If anyone has any questions about this please feel free to ask. Just remember that it is most unlikely that a Greek vet will fill in the passport correctly. If you want to check the passport when we are in Corfu anyone is welcome to visit us and we can check the chip and the passport at the same time. We have never found a passport filled in by a Greek vet to be filled in correctltly yet. I have been adding up and in the last five years we have bought 4 dogs and 5 cats into England. I have also taken around 50 dogs to Germany for rehoming, about 25 in our own car over several visits and the rest in a van belonging to the Kavos rescue centre.
Message posted by nuffstrong on 09 December 2009 at 1:28am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
This is a complicated subject explained well by Graham.
As I understand it the vaccination provided in the UK allows the pet to return up to 3 years after the date of the positive blood test but because of the higher risk of being bitten by an infected animal the Greeks (and much of Europe) insist on an annual injection. Whether or not you are returning to the UK and when is irrelevant to them. It's also worth knowing that even with an injection done in the UK ie valid for 3 years to facilitate your animals return to the UK, if your cat or dog bites someone whilst in Greece after the first 12 months without a repeat injection the consequences will by dire as they are not recognised as free from Rabies' due to their 12 month rule.
This is as I understand it and if there are any changes to Europe's requirements I would be very interested.
Steve
Message posted by km on 09 December 2009 at 7:53am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
Graham, how do you check the chip? If we have our dog done I'd like to take you up on the offer of checking his passport. Many thanks for all the advice.
Message posted by Graham T-A on 09 December 2009 at 11:59am - IP Logged
Legal Disclaimer
To clarify one point on this topic, when the initial vaccination is given by a UK vet, the time when the 2nd (booster) vaccination is required will not necessarily be three years. It is dependant upon the vaccine given to the animal, and can vary between different manufacturer's. Our cat has undertaken this procedure and his booster is required before two years, not three. This information has to be entered into the UK Pet Passport at the time of vaccination by the vet.
If you wish to post a reply to this thread you must first Login
If you are not already registered you must first register
All Rights Reserved. No part of the Corfu Travel Guide web site may be reproduced without permission.
Infringement will be pursued.
The Corfu Travel
Guide and Lefkada Travel Guides are brought to you by Agni Travel.
Agni Travel is the sister company of Taverna Agni and also the sponsor of the Agni Animal Welfare Fund