Pet travel to Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) has never been simple. For one, in-cabin pet travel into these countries is strictly prohibited. This policy has been an inconvenience for us (Mike and Steph) and many DJANGO Dog Blog readers, and we cover how to successfully travel to England and the greater United Kingdom with a dog or cat in this article.
Aside from the complicated process of getting to Great Britain (GB) with a pet, travel planning became even more confusing when Brexit rules governing the new relationship between the European Union (EU) and GB commenced January 2021.
Are you looking to travel to England, Scotland, or Wales with your dog or cat? Do you need to better understand the pet travel policies, documentation requirements, and other pre-travel requisites? If yes, you've come to the right place! In this DJANGO Dog Blog article, we cover how to take your pet to England, Scotland, and Wales in a post-Brexit world.
No airlines offer in-cabin pet travel to the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) from the United States or any other country. Unless you have a service animal—and keep in mind the U.S. Department of Transportation's definition of an Emotional Support Animal recently changed drastically—it is impossible to fly together in the cabin with your pet. The only time pets can fly in-cabin to England, Scotland or Wales is if you are flying from UK countries, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or the Republic of Ireland.
How then can you travel safely to the United Kingdom with a dog or cat? Pet entry must be via airline cargo (on an authorized airline into UK airports), an approved ferry company, or Eurotunnel Shuttle Service. We provide a comprehensive overview of all of these pet travel options in this article.
Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom. However, unlike England, Scotland and Wales, Northern Ireland is remaining under the jurisdiction of the Pet Travel Scheme as other EU Member States after January 1, 2021. For this reason, the below "Great Britain Pet Travel Requirements" specifically cover pet travel to England, Scotland and Wales (i.e. the countries within Great Britain), and do not cover pet travel to Northern Ireland.
Once you have confirmed how you will be entering Great Britain with your pet, you will need to ensure you have completed all mandated pet travel prerequisites. To make your travel planning easier, we've outlined everything you need to do before your trip.
Additional details about tapeworm treatment:
Tapeworm treatment can occur before or after endorsement of your health certificate. If tapeworm treatment is administered after your health certificate is endorsed, make sure to leave the tapeworm treatment section blank when you send your certificate for endorsement. Once you receive the endorsed health certificate, take it back to your veterinarian within 1-5 days of entry into the UK. The vet will administer your dog’s tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis) treatment and fill in the tapeworm section on the certificate.
When traveling to Great Britain, you must have one of the following pet travel documents:
Additional documentation requirements:
We hope you found this article informative and useful! If you have any questions or want to share a pet travel experience with us and our DJANGO Dog Blog readers, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below.
@HELENA BHAKTA Hello! It’s nice to hear from you. If you were issued an EU pet passport from an official veterinarian in Ireland back in 2015, then yes, this should still be valid for EU and GB travel so long as all vaccinations and treatments are up-to-date and documented. Great Britain confirmed it will indefinitely accept all EU pet passports issued before 2021.
Let us know if you have any other questions! You can also always email the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre directly at harc@cityoflondon.gov.uk. They are usually very responsive.
Although this doesn’t apply to you – I’d like to make this clarification for other readers…
For those with GB passports, these are now no longer valid for travel to EU countries or Northern Ireland.
I’m GB resident with Spanish holiday home. My dog trust rescue dog Mo has a Southern Ireland issued pet passport in 2015. His rabies is up to date. Do you think it’s still valid, I’m somewhat confused on reading Defra & europaac
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Dachshunds are a small, stubborn, loyal, and adventurous dog breed. Mike and I (Steph) know from experience. We're the proud dog parents of Django, our 7-year old long-haired dachshund and adventure pup. Django has been all over the United States and Europe with us, and we even named our dog accessories and dog apparel business, DJANGO, after him!
Despite being one of the most popular small dog breeds, dachshunds are often difficult to outfit. It can be challenging to find a dog harness that comfortably and securely fits your wiener dog's broad chest, muscular build, and long frame.
In this DJANGO Dog Blog article, we discuss what to look for when choosing a walking harness for your sausage dog. We also examine how often you should exercise your dachshund.
Tumble washable rugs review #2!
It's been over six months since we wrote our first review of Tumble rugs. Since then, our Tumble rugs have been through a lot. We have a rambunctious toddler who is almost 4 years old, a 10 month old baby who is learning he can throw spaghetti, and a low-riding long-haired dachshund who tracks in dirt, mud, and debris after every walk. Our Tumble rugs have seen milk and OJ spills, marker and crayon stains, dirt streaks, marinara splotches, endless dog hair...you name it.
We have 7 Tumble area rugs and runners throughout our home. Based on the location, each of our Tumble rug sees different levels of foot traffic, spills, dirt marks, and dog hair.
In this DJANGO Dog Blog article, we provide an updated overview and review of Tumble rugs based on our family's personal and extensive experience with the machine washable rugs.
Finding adorable and high quality puppy-themed baby gifts for you or a new parent isn't always easy. Are you a soon-to-be mom looking to spoil your newborn with cute clothes and/or design your little one's new nursery with dog-themed decor? Need to find a budget-friendly baby shower gift for a dog lover in your life.
Mike and I (Steph) have an adorable 9 month old boy and a rambunctious 3.5 year old toddler. We are also madly in love with our longhaired dachshund Django—our first child! We've bought and been gifted countless dog-themed baby gifts, toys, and accessories over the years.
In this DJANGO Dog Blog article, we round up our favorite 21 puppy-themed baby gifts that are sure to elicit 'oohs' and 'aahs' when unwrapped. Scroll down for dog-themed baby clothes and accessories, dog-themed toys for babies and toddlers, and dog-themed home and nursery decor.
DJANGO
August 17, 2021
Adding one important detail to our comment from August 16, 2021 (below).
UK Vets may no longer enter rabies vaccinations into EU Pet Passports. All rabies vaccination updates in a pet passport must be done by an official EU veterinarian.