Pet travel changes hassle, say vets and owners

Channel Island pet owners and vets have criticised the cost and "hassle" of changes to the rules for the documents required to travel with animals to Europe.

A change in EU rules, enforced by the UK, meant that EU pet passports expired in April. Pet owners in the Channel Islands are now required to apply for an Animal Health Certificate from their vet instead.

People who regularly live in the EU may continue to travel from Jersey using their pet passport, but everyone has been asked to check entry requirements for countries beforehand.

The Animal Health and Welfare team for the Government of Jersey said it sympathised with the inconvenience caused by the "late changes" to the rules.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the changes introduced by the EU were applied with "near immediate effect" following a briefing note issued by UK authorities.

It said: "Since the changes, the validity period of an Animal Health Certificate has been extended from four months to six months.

"While the certificates remain single-use, the longer validity period should help islanders travelling with pets for extended stays.

"We are also working closely with local vet practices to support ways to streamline the issuing of animal health certificates."

Candice Wilson rents a home in Jersey but bought a property in France last year. She travels there every month or two and usually takes her rescue dog Theo.

She said the requirement for an Animal Health Certificate increased the cost of her most recent trip from £230 to £400, a change which left her in "a bit of a panic".

"I can't afford to pay £170 every time I go so I'm going to be forced to see who can look after him, so I can manage to go on some occasions," she said.

Wilson said the change was particularly frustrating because Theo was adopted from France, which is why he had an EU pet passport.

"He's my child almost so not being able to take him with me is really sad," she said.

Wilson said the government should make applying for a certificate easier.

She said: "Is there something that they could do to make it more affordable and also maybe look at the validity, I think that would be helpful for us."

She said there should also be a unique arrangement between Jersey and France, given the close relationship between the two places.

"I would hope that some form of reciprocal agreement might be possible between Jersey and France to continue encouraging travel between the two jurisdictions," she said.

Aldwyn Le Cocq used to travel to France from Guernsey with her rescue dog on a regular basis.

While she travels less now, she said the changes were still " pretty disappointing".

"I've spoken to the vets and they said £161 it would cost and then you'd have to go in a 10-day window before you actually go," she said.

"Probably would put me off taking the dog, I'd probably pay for him to stay and be looked after here and then just go without the dog."

Ruth Geegan at All Pets Veterinary Centre in Jersey said the surgery had seen an increase in calls about the travel document changes.

She said: "Obviously it's stressful considering taking your pet to Europe and you just want to make sure that everything goes okay, so they're just calling to get some advice to make sure that they don't have any unforeseen problems.

"You know potentially worst-case scenario you could be refused travel with your pet and worst-case scenario if they don't have the right documents there can be things like quarantine."

She said her practice charges £170 per certificate with a discounted price for each additional pet.

She added that the certificates required more paperwork and vets have to do specific training to issue them, which "again takes time".

Geegan has called for officials to bring back the Jersey pet passports that were used before Brexit.

She said: "I think that would be easier for vet practices, easier for clients travelling with their pets, so we'll just watch this space but unfortunately we have no guarantee of when or if that would happen."

She said the local pet passports were much easier to use, and the new certificate system was "just hassle".

"It's hassle for people to have to remember to book an appointment before they go away, it's hassle for the vets - we used to have these beautiful little pet passports that, you know, were then valid for three years."

Steve Byrne from the GSPCA said the pet passport changes would likely be "very, very frustrating" for pet owners in the short term but it would get easier soon.

"Once it's settled and we're into the routines of the new paperwork and the new changes, I'm sure it'll return to how easy it's been with the pet passports," he said.

The States of Guernsey was approached for comment.

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