do we now need a pet passport to travel to southern ireland from uk?

We recently travelled with our dog to Southern Ireland and were told by the Ferry company that this was not required - dog has to remain in vehicle.

Sucessfully crossed both ways and upon returning heard some awful stories about animals being siezed from doing the very same journey! :-(

You do now, yes -just had a press release from the KC e-mailed to me today, pointing out that everyone has to make sure to have a pets passport when travelling to and from Ireland and the UKnow -including if you just go from Northern Ireland into Southern Ireland. I couldn't find it on the KC website and I know it is against the CD TOS to copy and paste an entire press release here, but hopefully the KC will eventually add it to their website.

This has been law since January 2012 however initially statements were issued that travellers would be unlikely to see changes as passports not being checked so people carried on regardless. This seems to have changed in recent months so if traveling to Ireland get a passport - legally you need it and if stopped you will be denied entry

This ruling is to me totally baseless! The whole point of Pet Passports was to keep Rabies out without the need for long periods of quarantine, therefore allowing free movement of dogs etc between countries. Great Britain is Rabies free, the Republic of Ireland is too, so what is the point of a  Pet Passport between our countries? Seems to be just a money maker!

I like holidays in Ireland with my dogs- I shan't bother going again- as I strongly object to giving my girls a totally un-necessary Rabies vac!

The point is that it's (since January 2012) EU law that all member states must be treated the same, so the old agreement between Ireland and the UK had to be scrapped. Neither the UK nor the Irish Government wanted this.

Another good reason for pulling out!

Incidentally, I would love to know how they could possibly enforce this between N. Ireland and the Republic. There are no border checks and people and cars move freely between the two- in fact you don't notice when you go across! Travelling from Republic into NI the first thing you are aware of is klm become miles and the Euro £'s. It's daft!

Incidentally, I would love to know how they could possibly enforce this between N. Ireland and the Republic. There are no border checks and people and cars move freely between the two- in fact you don't notice when you go across!

That's no different to going from France into Belgium or from Belgium into Holland or from Holland into Germany etc. So no, most dogs very likely won't be checked, but I wouldn't want it to be MY dog found without a passport when a spot check IS done.

I agree, but it doesn't make it right! I just won't bother visiting Ireland again. I am certainly not advocating breaking the law.

Very true Goldmali - I shudder at the thought :-(

I took Willow to Ireland last month on the ferry. No passport
No checks.

The ruling is that they dogs need rabies shots as well :-( it's to stop the puppy farmer mass exports allegedly

If that's true Tommee, then although it's inconvenient for us, I really hope it makes a dent in the number of puppies coming over. Can't forget the one farm mentioned in the Bateson report that supplies 5,000 puppies a year to the south of England.... doubtless there are many more supplying as many to other parts.

I've not taken my dogs over but have a long-standing invite to Ireland for a holiday with my dogs.... might have to rethink that (or at least plan longer ahead).

You don't need to plan very long in advance; it only take 3 weeks from the rabies vaccination for the dog to be able to travel freely.

> You don't need to plan very long in advance; it only take 3 weeks from the rabies vaccination for the dog to be able to travel freely.

I'll need that long to prepare for the extra cost of the rabies and passports, never mind the trip itself! :)

That would be good re the puppy farmed pups not beign able to come in legally until over 16 weeks, but as we are getting underage pups coming in from the continent, I somehow doubt it, unless they check at least as much as they are supposed to in Calais, yet the pups get through.

Pet passports costs should be much less now with no titre test to pay for and blood sampling, about £30 for the Rabies and around £50 for the Passport.

Whilst that may be true, it will also condemn many dogs to death that could be rehomed here inthe UK, the dog in my avatar is from Ireland(a rescue)he could not have come over at 8 weeks if the rescue had had to have him Rabies vaxd before he came, which means another puppy would not have been able to have been rescued. It adds to the initial outlay the rescues have to find too. My dog came across as a foster at first, but then I failed as a fosterer & kept him.

Why on earth do dogs from a rabies free country geographically attached to another rabies free country have to have a rabies vax, when they don't need the tapeworm teeatment.

I can see police dog following a crook near the border between Northern Ireland & Ireland(the rabies vax is required for this travel too BTW)& having to stop to have it's passport checked before continuing.

All it will do to the puppy farmers is drive them into Northern Ireland & then they can carry on their trade to the mainland.

>Why on earth do dogs from a rabies free country geographically attached to another rabies free country have to have a rabies vax, when they don't need the tapeworm teeatment.

Because under EU law, which we've all been signed up to without a vote (the vote was to join the EEC, a trade organisation, not a political union) but have to obey, insists that all member states have the same rules, so dogs from Ireland have to abide by the same rules as dogs from France or Lithuania.

>All it will do to the puppy farmers is drive them into Northern Ireland & then they can carry on their trade to the mainland.

Trading Standards say that it's where the pups start their journey that matters, not where their port of departure to mainland UK.

Can any vet issue the passport ?

Yes any vet that has them can issue them

>it will also condemn many dogs to death that could be rehomed here inthe UK,

Personally I do not agree with importing dogs from other countries while we have dogs in need of homes here in the UK.

By all means support rescue efforts overseas, but importing their problems here si not the way to go.  They should deal with their own pet overpopulation problem.

We don't bring starving famine victims or refugees here, so why dogs.

It totally plays into the hands of those who would like to see all breeding especially of pedigree dogs stopped, because there are rescue dogs needing homes.

Recently met a foreign rescue brought to UK from Eastern Europe where it was a street dog, and it was a thoroughly unpleasant individual to other dogs and attacked two very young pups at the fun dog show I was judging.

Well Collies & Black dogs in Ireland are treated like s**t & would be destined to die if they could not come here. 

I would not have homed another rescue in the UK(most rescues would think I am not suitable because I do not neuter as a matter of course)

As for ex strays from places like Romania, I know nothing about the dog that you have met, but nearly all the ones I have been involved with here, have been just the opposite & are carefully screened before being brought over. Romania is, of course, carrying out legalized killing of stray(& some that are not stray)dogs at the moment after a child's death was wrongly attributed to stray dogs(proven by the autopsy BTW). Dogs are being shot, clubbed, stabbed & poisoned(with food soaked in antifreeze)not a legal fate that awaits any unwanted dog in the UK

The paragraph below is taken from The BVA Pet Travel Requirements here   http://www.bva.co.uk/atoz/Pettravel.aspx

'A pet passport is still a legal requirement for moving pets between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. However, as both countries have had no indigenous rabies for many decades compliance checks on pets travelling between the two will not be applied.  The checks were not applied before the rules changed on 1 January 2012 so pet owners will not see any changes on the ground.'

There does seem to be some confusing info around! What are we to make of it? Friends have just returned from the Republic with their dogs and were clearly told by their ferry company that no passports were required for their dogs. I think I would request a letter from Defra stating checks will not be carried out before I would risk it!

The BVA really ought to update their site. They've taken that paragraph from what used to be on the DEFRA page, but that was removed some months ago. Both the DEFRA site and the Irish government site say that pet passports are required.

ETA: On February 19th this year I received the following email from DEFRA:

"Under the EU pet movement system, all pet dogs, cats and ferrets moving between EU Member States must meet the same animal health rules. From 1st January 2012 the requirement is that all pets travelling from the Republic of Ireland to the UK should be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies and accompanied by a pet passport.

We suggest that you contact your chosen carrier to check whether they have any further requirements in order to transport the animal. UK domestic legislation does not require or approved routes from ROI

Please be aware, should pets be found not to be in compliance with the law, further action may be taken.

I have a little Romanian rescue dog that we imported and would do so again in a heart beat

Thank you for putting this up Jeangenie. Not only should the BVA be updating their information so should or must, the ferry companies! I would guess the vast majority of pet owners travelling to the Republic of Ireland for holidays trust in what the ferry company tells them!

The fact of both  Britain and Ireland being rabies free leads most people to think a pet passport is not required. This view would prevail particularly in the case of people who have been used to taking their holidays in the Republic.

The friends I mentioned in my last post were horrified at the thought of what could have happened when I explained the debate on here to them-they came back a couple of days ago with two dogs and they had absolutely no idea the rules had changed. If I did not regularly come on here, I too would have probably toddled off again to Ireland in complete ignorance!! So Thank you :)