Can I bring my pets into the UK?

by Greg Sandell

I have no firsthand information on this, but here is a small amount of information I have gathered from others over email. [If anyone would like to contribute more information, please write, as this seems to be a truly Frequently Asked Question.] The British are rather proud of having zero incidences of rabies in their country, and are rather eager to keep it that way, so pets are screened with extreme care.

One person wrote:

"All pets [dogs, cats, etc] must undergo a 6 month quarantine. You bring the animal in, check it into an approved quarantine kennel [you can visit the animal there] and if all goes well, take it out after the six months are up. It's very hard on the pets and it is also quite expensive to board them. With the advent of the chunnel, the policy may change but if it does, it won't be for some time yet."

Many people tell me, and this has been confirmed by newspaper articles, that a large proportion of pets die during these six month quarantines.

A free guide is obtainable from:

• Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food
• Whitehall Place,
• LONDON,
• SW1A,
• England, U.K.
  
  

Telephone:

• 020 7270 8080 from UK
• +44 20 7270 8080 from elsewhere
  
  

Another person wrote:

"Your cat must be quarantined in a registered cattery [ie approved by the Ministry for quarantine purposes]. A list of registered catteries is included with the guide. The cost worked out at roughly US$1500 per cat. Most of this cost is the cattery fees for the six months quarantine period."

Editor's note:

• This was extracted from US to UK moving FAQ [site no longer available]
• It was written and maintained by Greg Sandell
• Since this article was written quarantine for cats and dogs has been relaxed and in certain cases cats and dogs may be allowed into England without quarantine. See the Pets Travel Scheme [PETS].

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