Call for National Dog Registration Scheme
Battersea Dogs & Cats Home has welcomed the amended regulations under the PETS travel scheme which relax restrictions on owners taking their pets with them when they travel within the EU.
As of Jan 1, dogs, cats and ferrets will no longer be required to spend six months in quarantine when travelling to or from the European Union or from selected countries where the risk of rabies is judged to be low.
However, the charity is seeking reassurances that the Government is able to properly record and trace those dogs which enter the UK from abroad. To ensure this, the charity is advising that a National Dog Registration Scheme is established. While the risk of rabies is judged to be minimal in light of the efficacy of modern vaccinations, the accidental import of other diseases and parasites remains a possibility.
Similarly, there is also the possibility that pets could be lost or abandoned. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home argues that a Registration Scheme and compulsory microchipping would form an effective way of monitoring animals travelling throughout the EU.
Phil Robinson, one of the vets at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home said: “Battersea aims to take in any dog or cat which needs our help, regardless of their background or medical condition. However, we need the Government to make sure organisations such as Battersea, that are on the frontline of animal welfare, can have the measures in place to deal with what these new regulations could mean."
He added: "More than half the animals coming into our care are strays, so there needs to be a way of finding out their history and accessing information if an animal with a foreign microchip comes through our doors.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
