Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 October 2013
539. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will respond to correspondence (details supplied) regarding the new regulations on the movement of cats and dogs to and from the UK. [40943/13]
View answerEU law relating to the protection of citizens from rabies provides that dogs, cats and ferrets moving between EU Member States must be accompanied by EU Pet Passports certifying microchip identification and rabies vaccination. Given that Ireland and UK have traditionally operated a rabies free zone, both States agreed, on a risk analysis basis, that border compliance checks would not be undertaken.
However, an increased focus by authorities within the UK on illegal puppy imports from elsewhere in the EU has lead to two recent incidents of dogs from Ireland being seized/detained in Britain, and the risk of further such incidents is likely to increase. In view of this, any person travelling with dogs to Britain is being advised by this Department to ensure that their exports are compliant with EU law as soon as possible.
While Ireland and the UK have been rabies free for many decades, Western Europe is now also free of rabies. The harmonised EU system under which passports and rabies vaccinations are required allows dog owners to bring their pets into and out of Ireland without a compulsory and lengthy quarantine. While both Ireland and the UK sought and achieved a legal provision providing the possibility of a derogation from rabies vaccination for non commercial pets movements from 2015, this was not extended to commercial traffic which includes any change of ownership. I understand that one charity is undertaking significant capital investment which should to some extent relieve the concerns expressed by some small charities about the cost of complying with EU rules.
