| Before travelling - Europe |
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If you are planning to travel with your four-legged friend, you should start making preparations quite early, leaving nothing to chance. First of all, you should check if animals are admitted in the tourist facility you have chosen for your stay, as well as collect information about the rules you'd have to comply with. And most importantly, you should inquire about veterinary health rules and vaccination requirements, which apply in the country you have chosen for your journey. For further information, visit the following websites: www.ministerosalute.it/speciali/piSpecialiNuova.jsp?id=79 www.ministerosalute.it/caniGatti/paginaMenuCani.jsp?menu=viaggiare&lingua=italiano www.ministerosalute.it/caniGatti/caniGatti.jsp
TRAVELLING IN EUROPE
Starting from 1st October 2004, travelling in the European Union with a cat, dog or ferret is only allowed with the EU pet passport (see picture below). The pet passport looks like any other passport and comes in a blue booklet bearing the symbol of Europe, namely a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background. This passport makes life easier for travelling pet owners, allowing them to travel abroad without leaving their four-legged friends in specialised pensions or with friends and relatives.  The pet passport contains all the necessary information (identity, health status) concerning your pet, both in English and in your national language: identity of dog, cat or ferret, microchip (transponder) number or tattoo (which is allowed only until 2011), rabies vaccination and booster dates, as well as any other vaccinations.Rabies vaccination is the only one to be mandatory for travelling abroad. This document will help health authorities verify the identity of pets and pet owners, making sure that cats and dogs are vaccinated against rabies. The veterinary services of Local Health Units shall issue the passport only 21 days after rabies vaccination. For booster dates, the indications given by the vaccine manufacturing company shall apply. However, life is not as easy for travelling pet owners whose pets are less than three months old. Several European countries, in fact, do not allow travelling with pets that are not vaccinated against rabies. For further information about the rules applying to travelling with cats, dogs and ferrets under 3 months of age that are not vaccinated against rabies, please turn to the Consulate of the country you're planning to travel to. If allowed in, pets shall anyway have a passport certifying that they have always lived in the same place and did not come in contact with wild animals potentially infected with rabies; another solution is bring along the vaccinated mother, on which your pet still depends. Besides, it should be noted that some EU countries apply more restrictive measures (at least until 30th June 2010) to travelling with cats and dogs. For the entry of animals into Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden and Malta, along with the pet passport and the transponder, also an antibody titration carried out 30 days after the vaccination (120 days after for Sweden) and 6 months before travelling, must be provided. Besides, pet owners travelling to Finland, Ireland, Malta, Sweden and Great Britain shall submit their pets to preventive treatment for echinococcus and - excluding Finland - for ticks. The pet passport should contain information certified by the veterinarian in regard to any other treatments against echinococcus and ticks carried out before travelling, in line with national standards adopted by the country of destination. Finally, antibody titration must not be renewed for pets that have had a booster shot in line with the vaccination protocol provided for by the vaccine manufacturing company. Entry of pets under three months of age into Great Britain, Sweden, Ireland and Malta, is not allowed. For further information before travelling to the countries listed below, please visit the following websites: For Great Britain: www.ministerosalute.it/speciali/pdSpecialiNuova.jsp?sub=5&id=79&area=ministero〈=it&titolo=In%20viaggio%20con%20gli%20animali&idhome=79 www.defra.gov.uk For Ireland: www.agriculture.gov.ie For Sweden: www.sjv.se/home.4.7502f61001ea08a0c7fff125607.html For Malta: www.mrae.gov.mt For Finland: www.finland.it/public/default.aspx?nodeid=35721&contentlan=16&culture=it-IT#animali |
