The movement of dogs between Member States is governed by Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013. This Regulation, which came into operation on 29 December 2014, is implemented in Ireland under the Pet Passport (No.2) Regulations 2014 and requires, inter alia, that a dog being moved for sale or change of ownership must be accompanied by a pet passport showing that it:
- has been identified by a microchip (a transponder readable by a device compatible with ISO standard 11785).
- is immunised against rabies (at least 21 days prior to movement).
- underwent a clinical veterinary examination within 48 hours of departure, to confirm that it showed no signs of diseases and is fit to be transported for the intended journey.
In addition, each consignment of dogs must be accompanied by a veterinary health (‘Balai’) certificate issued by the competent authority (my Department in the case of Ireland) within 48 hours of scheduled departure time and the Member State of destination must be notified via the TRACES at the time of issue of the cert.
Dogs being moved for purposes other than sale or change of ownership (non-commercial movements) are subject to the same pet passport requirements as commercial movements but no health certificate or pre-movement veterinary examination is required. Dogs must be accompanied by their owners during non-commercial movement.
These rules are directly applicable and binding on all EU member states and apply equally to movements of dogs into Ireland regardless of the length of stay here.
