Do Pets Go Into Quarantine When Leaving the UK?

There’s no quarantine on landing for most of the places we fly dogs and cats to; the only places that impose quarantine restrictions out of the common destinations are Australia and New Zealand. Otherwise, dogs and cats land at the destination airport and can be collected and brought home that same day.

For pet travel to Australia and New Zealand, all cats and dogs must complete a minimum of 10 days in an Australian or New Zealand quarantine facility. Any issues that occur which increase the biosecurity risk posed by an animal may result in a longer stay in quarantine. Your pet would need to stay in quarantine longer, for example, if a tick is found on them. It would be required to stay for 21-30+ days until blood testing is completed at your cost. Or, if your pet arrives without correct paperwork, they would have to stay in quarantine until the paperwork is sorted which can be expensive and very stressful for the owner.

If you are travelling to Australia or New Zealand, it is advisable to start preparing your pet early to avoid an extended quarantine visit or delay in the UK. If you are going abroad in the next 7-18 months and you plan on taking your pet with you, start the rabies work. If it’s less than 7 months, start the rabies work very urgently. This is because your pet needs to have a rabies vaccination at least 7 months before they travel to Australia/New Zealand. About 3-4 weeks after this vaccination, they will need a rabies blood sample or Rabies Neutralising Antibody Titer Test (RNATT), which will determine whether your dog/cat has made enough antibodies to keep them safe from contracting rabies. Your pet would not be allowed to enter Australia until at least 180 days after the rabies blood sample. The reason behind this is if your pet actually has rabies and produced antibodies because of this, then it would’ve shown itself by this time. You will also need to get an import permit after the Titer test, but no sooner than 42 days of import.

After your pet flies and lands in quarantine, the quarantine team will collect them from the airport and settle them in. You will be emailed to say they are safe and well. In Australia, there is no visiting, but in New Zealand, quarantine is slightly more relaxed. For other destinations such as Singapore or Japan, your pet will land and go to the airport based quarantine area. Their paperwork will be checked there, and if all is satisfactory then they will get released. For most other destinations, the landing procedure is slightly less complicated and they are just collected at the cargo area of the airport.

There is a lot to know and plan when flying your pets abroad, and lot to potentially get wrong or misinterpret. So, if you still have some unanswered questions or would like anything explained further, you can either look at the FAQ’s on our website and the pages for the specific locations we fly pets to, or feel free to give us a call on 01725 551124. We’re happy to help with anything you need.

Fri Oct 30 2015