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Pet Passports: Travelling with furry companions · Paws Between Us - Pet Stories, Welfare and Building A Bond

0:01
Welcome to the Paws Between Us podcast, co-hosted by best friends Natalie and
0:05
Sasha. We're lifelong animal lovers and proud pet parents. Between us,
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we share our lives with cats Weaver and Murray and Betty
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the pug. In each episode, we dive into the joys and challenges
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of living with our furry companions, sharing honest stories, laughter, and sometimes
0:21
a few tears. We'll also bring in special guests to offer expert-backed tips
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and proven practices for keeping your pets happy, healthy, and loved.
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Please note, some episodes may touch on sensitive topics or contain strong
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language. Listener discretion is advised.
0:38
Hey, Nat. Hello. How are you? Yeah, I'm all
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right. Thank you. Are you? Yeah. Nice to see you again.
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Yes. Yes. Talking about pets. Indeed. Pet passports
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and travel, which has been something I've really grappled with over the past few years
0:53
in terms of travelling with Betty. So I'm really looking forward to exploring this episode.
0:58
Yeah, I thought it'd be a good one. I mean, it doesn't really affect me
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too much with The pussycats, we don't
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go anywhere. But I thought I've, you know, spoken to colleagues who've got animals,
1:07
dogs, should I say, and go around Europe quite often. And I know you,
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yeah, like you say, you've been travelling. Hopefully it'll be used to some people.
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Yeah, I hope so. And you never know now, you might relocate to an exotic
1:19
location and need to take the cats with you. You might decide that the
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East Midlands is not for you anymore and you want to go and live in
1:26
some far-flung destination, somewhere really warm and sunny and
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free living, and you take the cats with you. I think the furthest I'm going
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to go is Scotland so that it's cooler when it gets red hot in summer.
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I'll just get the bus up or the car. Oh, do you think you'd ever
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like take the cats on holiday or not? No, I think, 'cause it's
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funny actually, 'cause we took Weaver to the vet this week and she
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absolutely hates the car, hates it. She like shouts constantly.
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So, it'd be really distressing for her to go any further than like 2 minutes
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down the road. So, I wouldn't wanna do it to her. I know some cats
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are good at travelling. I think if you bring them up from a kitten,
2:01
getting used to being around and doing that sort of thing, then I think they're
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fine. They seem, a lot of them seem fine on socials that I've seen,
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but mine, no. Feels like cruel to sort of take them too far
2:10
away from home. They like their home comforts. But does
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Betty like travelling? Betty has always been good with travelling.
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She's never got carsick. She's always very chill.
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She doesn't get too scared. She doesn't get too anxious. She sleeps.
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She's a good girl. No surprises there. Yep. Initially in the
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car, she'd be on the back seat and she barks a little bit because she
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wanted to be up front with us on my knee.
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And that isn't going to happen because we've got like a special sort of car,
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not a car seat, but there's a fastening that attaches to
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the seatbelt bit that, you know, so if
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anything were to happen that she wouldn't kind of fly across the vehicle. She's restrained.
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Yeah. So she would be, she's kind of belted in.
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And initially she just didn't want to be sat there on her own.
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She wanted to be with me, but she's got used to that now. So we
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have a little furry blanket. Buckle her in and
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yeah, she just falls asleep. So she travels really well. And then when we've
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been on a boat, she's also been, been super good. We've been
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abroad a few times and that's been fine. The first time
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we went to Germany, she had sort of a pet
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passport under the old rules. This was when we were still in the EU
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and it was a lot easier to travel with a
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pet because they, or with a dog, they had a pet pass— Betty had a
3:31
pet passport and had the relevant vaccinations and then And that pet
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passport was like our passports. You have them for quite a long period of
3:39
time. Oh, that's cool. You just have to keep the vaccinations up to date.
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But then when we left the EU, all the rules changed and there was a
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lot of paperwork you had to complete per trip, which I know we're gonna explore
3:49
today. So we just sort of, yeah, can maybe be a bit clearer 'cause
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it is a minefield and I do get very confused about what's what. Yeah.
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And so, you know, we, it has put us off a little bit because
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It's become more time-consuming and more expensive
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to sort out the paperwork before you travel. So,
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yeah, it'd be good to kind of understand a bit more about why
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that is. And then just taking her abroad. Now,
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she, in the summer, it's really hard because it was too hot. She struggles
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and it's not fair. So, staying in the UK,
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at least, you know, the weather is going to be manageable. Although this summer
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we've had like extreme heat, haven't we? So that is all changing, of course.
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Yeah. Um, yeah, the furthest we've taken her is,
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yeah, to France and Germany, and slightly out of season when it's
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not been too hot. Um, but yeah, we're lucky really in
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that sense, in that she travels well. But yeah, it's just all the faff that's
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involved. And I think that was one of the reasons that we wanted to explore
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this topic, because I'm sure there are plenty of pet parents out there wondering
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like how it all works. And if you are thinking of taking a holiday
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next summer, it's always good to sort of plan ahead. So hopefully
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we can share with you some advice. Advice and guidance through
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our expert vet, Gemma, on how it all works.
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Amazing. Yeah, we might as well get her in and then she can kind of
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tell us from her perspective, and hopefully can provide you a few little stats on
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kind of how many people are travelling with their animals these days.
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So yeah, let's get Gemma in.
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Hello and welcome to another episode of Paws Between Us.
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Uh, very excited today to be talking to Gemma Nash. With Sasha
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talking about Betty going on holiday recently to Jersey,
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and friends of mine that like won't go anywhere without their beloved dogs,
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more people on social media talking about travelling with their cats,
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thought it'd be good to explore the world of travelling pets, particularly when
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talking about going on holiday abroad. Before we introduce Gemma, I've got a few
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little stats to give us a little bit of context, because that was all sort
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of anecdotal stuff, but, um, I found this morning some information which might
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help to set the scene a little bit. So a report by GoCompare, the insurance
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company, said that 49% of dog owners plan or have already
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gone abroad with their dog, which is massive. Really surprised me.
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Another report by Brittany Ferries, you can see their whole information
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on a webpage, which we'll share in the notes for the podcast. But they
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are saying the most popular travelling pet obviously is dogs, and they make up 58%
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of pets travelling worldwide. Cats come in second place at
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22%, and it's estimated that million domestic
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animals travel on commercial flights every year, which is massive.
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We'll find out whether Gemma has seen these similar stats in
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a moment. 37% of families travel with their four-legged friends,
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which is a 19% increase over the last decade. So I imagine
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that will continue as well. And according to owners, 61% of dogs enjoy
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trips to the US, Canada, and the UK. So going
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very far-flung. So let's welcome in Gemma. She's one of the friendly and
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experienced vets at leading travel veterinary clinics in the UK, offering animal
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health certificates and other travel documentation for pets travelling
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abroad. The team have extensive knowledge of the latest pet travel requirements, so try
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to make the process as simple as possible. And Gemma's part of a dedicated
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team guiding owners through this process and helping people travel safely and legally.
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So welcome, Gemma. That was a long intro. How are you? Yeah,
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all good. Thank you. All good. How are you? Yeah, good. Thanks for coming on.
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Gemma, introduce yourself a little bit to us. Was that all accurate? Was that something
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you have seen, reflect on? Yeah. So, so my
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partner and I, we started Past Pets about 5
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years ago. Um, and I was working in a really busy clinic
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and COVID put a lot of stresses on, on staffing and
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there was a big demand for the veterinary sector really. A lot
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more people got pets during lockdown and we were
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really understaffed and, you know, trying to fit in all the clinical work.
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And then Brexit happened. And after Brexit, pet travel, the pet
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travel requirements became a lot more complicated. And in practice, it's just when
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you're not seeing pets travelling regularly, trying to do the,
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the quite complicated bureaucratic paperwork is a bit of a faff.
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And it's not a priority sorting out someone's pet holiday when you're in a
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busy clinic, because you need to be prioritising the, the health concerns
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of those pets. My partner and I, we, we actually started Past
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Pets, um, down in Havant where we were living
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of where we are still living, from our conservatory, which was a weird COVID
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business venture. And we had some
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really lovely owners coming in to see us. So we're
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about 10 minutes from the Brittany Ferries terminal. People who were
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really struggling to find a vet who was able to fit them in to do
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this paperwork. So, and it just took off from there. So we now have the
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branches in Havant, New Malden, which is southwest London, and one in Bristol.
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And yeah, we're definitely seeing lots of people wanting to travel with
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their pets, and there are more pet owners than, than ever before.
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People are becoming more aware of the possibility of
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travelling with pets from social media and things like that.
9:13
Yeah. So yeah, it's definitely something that
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is, is a growing area, but it's just making sure owners
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are aware of what sort of that entails and if, if their
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pets are an appropriate pet to take, take away with them
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or, yeah. Yeah. Sort of our sort of area is, is advising owners
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on that and advising them on the the veterinary paperwork
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required for wherever they're going. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm looking forward
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to sort of getting into like the detail and nuances of that a little bit,
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'cause we've got some good questions to ask you in a minute. But like,
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first of all, like what's your history, Gemma? Like, have you got fur family yourself?
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Like, have you always had pets? What's your connection? So growing up, I was,
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so I was brought up with my mum and my siblings, and we always
10:01
had pets growing up. My mum was a physio, so she was in a
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really sort of caring profession, and we were always outside of
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when we weren't at school, we were outside walking and appreciating
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nature and valuing nature was such a big part of my upbringing. I love
10:16
animals and I like fixing things. So the veterinary degree was like a logical
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progression from that. So yeah, so I've always been brought up
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to sort of really respect all beings, basically.
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We, at the moment, since starting the business, time is,
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is quite limited. So actually we don't have any pets currently,
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which is quite sad, but I think the reality of pet ownership is
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I want to be around and be able to look
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after them myself. And it's, it's, uh, if you're
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off travelling all over the place, at the moment, we, we don't have
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lives that are compatible with that in terms of travelling around the country,
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being at work all the time, basically. Yeah. No,
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I respect that. And I'm so deeply aware of that. So yeah,
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we don't have any pets at the moment. We did have a lovely cat
11:07
called Colin. And a budgie called Alan, but no, no longer.
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So, yeah. So, we're in a hiatus in our pet lives.
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Do you think you'll get some eventually when things calm down? Yeah,
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definitely. Definitely. When things calm down, for sure.
11:21
Yeah. Yeah. Well, no, you're right because, yeah,
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animals do need a lot of care and attention and they require
11:28
a lot of human interaction. You know, you've got to kind of, you're not just,
11:30
they're not just sort of living there as part of the furniture, you know,
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they're part of the family. So, Yeah, if life's busy, it might not fit
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in with the lifestyle. It's not always right to have an animal when you're,
11:40
yeah. Yeah. You've gotta make sure you get them at the right time. And I
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think that was the surprise people had when they were working from home during COVID
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got pets, and then actually went back to work. And it's, it's not always
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fair on the pet to leave them at home for however long.
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And the workplace isn't always a suitable place depending on, you know,
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the pet's temperament. You might be lucky enough to have an office that allows pets,
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but your pet might not be suitable for the office, depending on
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what they're like. And you can't always, it's like kids, you can't really guarantee what—
12:12
No, no. How they're gonna behave. Yeah. No,
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that's, that's, yeah, it's interesting 'cause yeah, I think COVID did spur a
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lot of people on to get animals and pets, and then it kind of,
12:22
yeah, some— I've heard a lot about the kind of behavioural problems that
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came out of that. Did you see the same thing as well? Yeah, we are
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seeing quite a significant rise in behavioural issues, and it's really hard to pin down
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why that is. Um, whether there was, I mean,
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there's a lot of, I think during COVID there was potentially
12:42
maybe less sort of ethical breeding,
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maybe in terms of how breeders were like selecting pets that
12:49
were, had the right temperament because, you know, certain breeds of
12:54
dogs, for example, have really stable characteristics and
12:57
it, it would be really unusual to see aggressive Labradors
13:01
or even sort of Newfoundlands, and they're bred, for example,
13:05
Newfoundlands are bred to be gentle giants. But we did, we have
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seen in clinical practice a rise in cases where they aren't as chilled out,
13:13
bombproof family pets necessarily anymore. So it's,
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it's really hard to pin that down. And I think maybe also
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people were getting pets who weren't aware of how much of
13:25
a responsibility it is training them. And maybe, maybe there was sort of a lack
13:29
of education around what it entails to have pets.
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Potentially. But yeah, we, we, we definitely have seen an increase in,
13:37
in issues, behavioural issues. Yeah, it's, it's sort of
13:41
advising owners and trying to educate owners around,
13:46
around that is, is the thing for sure. Yeah. Yeah.
13:50
Well, thank you for that. I know we were here to talk about pet passports,
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so let's, let's explore that a little bit more. So yeah, how do
13:56
these work? I mean, I have a cat, so I have less option to take
14:00
my cat away with me on holiday and kind of explore. Sasha's been away.
14:04
A bit more than me, so this is kind of probably resonate with her a
14:07
bit more. But how do the pets passports work? Like, how do they safeguard
14:10
pets and people? What do they sort of, what do they do? So, there's,
14:14
there's no one pet passport that, that works for every country
14:18
in the world. So, when we were part of the EU, there was an EU
14:22
pet passport that UK owners could have that would allow them to travel with
14:26
their dog, cat, or ferret into the EU.
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We don't get many ferrets, but we do get the odd one. But now since
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Brexit, that's been So the EU no longer allow
14:37
us to be in that sort of, um, you know, agreement. So now pets
14:41
travelling into the EU instead have something called an Animal Health Certificate, which is the
14:45
equivalent. That's sort of the passport for getting into the
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EU. And the main point of having any veterinary documentation for pets
14:53
travelling is to safeguard them from diseases and the spread of disease,
14:57
and mainly to safeguard people from the spread of disease and primarily
15:01
rabies, which is a really horrendous disease that affects
15:06
that has a, I think it's a 100% fatality rate once symptoms appear in humans.
15:09
And we haven't had that disease in the UK for over 100 years because of
15:13
the strict restrictions around movement, basically.
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Right. So it's the bureaucracy around it is annoying.
15:21
It's annoying. It's like a 10-page document, sometimes longer.
15:25
Wow. They only need it really to be a few pages probably,
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but the actual underlying reason behind it all
15:32
is really important, and it's really important to safeguard borders
15:36
from disease spread. From disease, yeah, yeah. So what kind of assessments
15:41
are involved then? I mean, and you, sorry, you said about the health passports,
15:43
that was just for— Yes. So that's— The EU. Yeah, so for the animal
15:46
health certificate for travelling with dogs, cats, ferrets into
15:51
the EU, you would need to get a rabies vaccine when
15:55
the pet is over 12 weeks old, wait 21 days,
15:58
and when more than 21 days has elapsed, you can book in for an Animal
16:02
Health Certificate, so that's something that we would issue at PassPets.
16:05
And those Animal Health Certificates, you would send all the information
16:09
around the rabies vaccine so that our vets in-house have that
16:13
to, to check over to make sure it's valid, and then come to the appointment
16:18
within 10 days of your departure date for the EU,
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and we would issue the AHC at that point,
16:23
assuming the pet was healthy, not showing any symptoms of any
16:28
transmissible disease, and fit for the travel intended. So,
16:32
um, the type of journey you are taking is relevant.
16:35
So if you are flying a very elderly pug, for example,
16:40
into France in the cargo of a plane, that wouldn't
16:44
necessarily be an appropriate form of transport for that pet,
16:48
for that age, the fact that they're paraplegic, et cetera. That,
16:52
that is important to consider in advance. So pre-planning is,
16:55
is really important and, and a conversation with with pets,
16:59
normal vets, to say, look, we're planning on travelling abroad.
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Is, is this something that's suitable? Is there anything you can advise
17:08
temperament-wise? If there's a really anxious,
17:10
stressed pet, there are often calming supplements that can be used.
17:14
We wouldn't advise sedating pets when they're travelling because it can affect
17:18
their sort of cardiovascular system. So,
17:21
yeah, there are calming supplements definitely, but it's just pre-planning
17:26
and thinking about, the route of transport you are
17:29
taking, how your pet copes with that, and if it's an appropriate journey.
17:34
And then our vets at the final AHC appointment will be doing a
17:37
sort of more thorough clinical exam around that, basically. That's good.
17:41
Ash, you've been to Paris, right, with Betty years ago? Is that
17:45
right? I've been to France, but not Paris. I think the city
17:49
would be too much for Betty now. But yeah, I've been, been to France
17:52
in our camper van. I've been to Germany, but that was many years ago when
17:55
she was was a lot younger. So yeah, it's been mainly travel
18:00
by road and by boat. And I think that's interesting what you said
18:03
around, you know, the pet passport element safeguards against
18:07
disease, but then there were other considerations which I think you've touched on about thinking
18:11
about the pet and what's right for them. 'Cause we, we don't
18:14
travel with Betty so much anymore because I think it's just too much now
18:18
she's a senior, and definitely wouldn't travel by
18:24
plane for the reasons you mentioned, but are there any other considerations, Gemma,
18:27
that you can, should kind of think about? Yeah. So I mean,
18:30
it's not necessarily even the age of the pet, it's,
18:33
it's if that, what the temperament of the pet and what their temperament's
18:38
like. A really anxious young pet
18:42
might not actually be suitable for even, you know, sitting on a ferry
18:46
or sitting in the car for hours, and they might be happier staying at home
18:50
or getting a dog sitter in. So it's just weighing up the alternative
18:53
options of, of, are they gonna really get a lot out of that trip with
18:57
you? And a lot of the time they are. Sitting in the car going on
19:01
the Eurotunnel over to France, it's brilliant with, with most dogs, but you've just
19:05
got to weigh that up. And then certain breeds, so brachycephalic breeds,
19:08
so the short, short-nosed breeds, because of the breathing issues that are
19:12
associated with the way they've been bred, they are at higher risk
19:16
of having complications if they're more stressed, if they overheat,
19:20
So it's just really being a bit more cautious with those kind of breeds
19:24
as well when travelling. And if, if you are having to fly somewhere,
19:28
it's, are there options for taking the pet in the cabin instead of having them
19:32
in the hold? Certain airlines under a certain weight limit will
19:35
allow pets being in the cabin. You mentioned that earlier about pets travelling
19:39
to the USA. There are some companies where you can rent a seat on
19:43
a private jet, which is a bit extreme. Wow. Yeah. Not great
19:46
for the environment either, but that is an option if you are moving to
19:51
America and you just And you've got enough money. Yeah,
19:54
it's costly business. You're lucky enough to be able to do that, then that—
19:58
we do see some people doing that. So that is something that from a
20:02
welfare ethical point of view, I sort of have no issues with, but from
20:07
an environmental point of view, it's not ideal. Yeah, I mean, it's funny what you
20:10
say about the welfare side of things, because I have seen travel companies a
20:14
lot more accommodating now for pets and putting pets sort
20:19
So we did go to Jersey recently and there was a wonderful pet lounge
20:22
that we went to. And, you know, Betty was really comfortable 'cause she could sit
20:26
on the seats. It was very chilled. There was free treats, there was access to
20:29
water, you know, and I think a few years ago you wouldn't have found that.
20:33
So it is good to see those things evolving and improving.
20:36
Yeah, absolutely. And that's where sort of owner education around
20:41
the fact that it isn't always like that. So you want to be researching
20:45
what the different options are. So, you know, So, you know, do you want to
20:49
go to the Eurotunnel and just do that quick 30-minute journey, or do
20:52
you want to go on a ferry, in which case, can you get a pet
20:55
cabin, which is often, you know, really lovely way to travel with a pet,
20:59
assuming they're not too big. And yeah, or as you said,
21:02
Sasha, you get the ferries where they do have pet lounges,
21:06
but that's not on every ferry. So it's worth having the time to research
21:10
those options in advance and not thinking, oh, I actually wanna take the dog with
21:14
me next week. Let's just panic book this. Yeah,
21:18
you're right, because some ferries don't offer that option, and we've discounted
21:22
them for that reason, where you've had to leave the dog in the vehicle,
21:26
which we just couldn't do with Betty. But it does take a bit
21:30
of time to go online and read the FAQs, and you could end up
21:33
getting caught out. So I think that's good advice. Yeah, absolutely. And some
21:37
pets will be fine sitting in the car. They love the car, they're perfectly
21:41
relaxed, but where you don't have a pet like that, it's just worth as you
21:45
said, just taking that extra time and looking into those details, because it's
21:48
so important. Sensible advice. Actually,
21:51
earlier when I talked about the Britney Ferrers report, they gave
21:55
some quite interesting advice. They were basically saying pet travel is an important part of
21:59
like the travel industry now, and it's not to be taken lightly or ignored.
22:02
And actually, with lots of people saying they want to travel, they were saying that
22:06
actually it'd be good for business and good for travellers if more companies
22:10
put extra things on that would allow pets to travel comfortably with their owners.
22:14
So, it's quite interesting that they're kind of, they can see the business need and
22:17
actually kind of want to help customers, which is good. And hopefully other
22:21
companies may start to think and follow.
22:24
Yeah, absolutely. Owner education around the implications
22:28
of travelling with pets, definitely. It's really important.
22:31
Obviously, as a pet travel company, we have our
22:35
FAQs and we have our advisory notes on our website and
22:39
we advise owners when they come in for their appointments. But again,
22:43
yeah, it's just really important to take, take the time in advance
22:47
of going away basically, and just having a look into all of those,
22:50
those options.
22:59
And in terms of travelling back, I know when I have travelled back
23:03
to the UK, there are things that I've had to do for Betty. I think
23:06
a worming tablet at are vets in the country
23:10
where I've been travelling in has been essential. Yes. So could you just
23:14
tell us a little bit about like the return? Yes. So assuming,
23:18
so if you are in the EU and you've got an Animal Health Certificate,
23:22
that's valid for 6 months from the date of issue to return to
23:26
the UK on. For dogs, they also need to have tapeworm treatment
23:30
administered more than 1 day, but less than 5 days from the return
23:34
time, from the arrival time in the UK. And that's because
23:38
there's a particular species of tapeworm that's present in some EU
23:42
countries, but not in the UK, that can affect humans
23:46
and have implication on human health. And the, the specific drug
23:50
that is required to treat those tapeworms only stays
23:54
in the system at a high enough dose to sort of kill them off for
23:57
a certain number of days. So that's why it's so specific. It's quite an awkward
24:01
timeframe because, you know, if you're over a bank holiday, or, you know, France does
24:05
seem to have quite a few random days that you might not know about.
24:09
Yeah. So it's definitely worth, um, looking, Google Maps,
24:13
just have a look at the vet practices in the area that, that you're gonna
24:17
be in, in that timeframe and try and contact them to get it booked in
24:20
in advance. Any vet can do that. It doesn't need to be an official vet.
24:23
So for the actual Animal Health Certificate, it, not every
24:26
vet can issue that. You have to have undergone a specific training
24:29
with Defra, basically with the APHA. To be allowed to do
24:34
certain pet travel certification. But coming back, any vet in the EU
24:38
can administer tapeworming and sign that off on the AHC.
24:41
It's just being aware of where they need to sign off, just in case they're
24:44
not aware of that, which also is something that seems to have caught out a
24:48
few, the odd, the odd person returning with a pet. Yeah, hence this
24:52
podcast, 'cause we know some of our listeners do sort of struggle to get their
24:56
head around this whole topic. So. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for spelling it out
25:00
really clearly. Yeah. I mean, I've got, I've got a friend actually who takes
25:05
her dog everywhere with her. I mentioned at the start, she, she lives in Finland,
25:08
but she was travelling back and forth to Belgium. But because obviously she,
25:11
is Finland in the EU? Finland. Yeah. Finland is in the, yeah. If you are
25:15
in the Schengen zone, you also get, I think Finland is in the EU,
25:18
but they are included in the pet travel agreement within the EU.
25:22
So Norway, Finland, Malta, Ireland, and the UK
25:25
all require the tapeworming treatment within that specific timeframe
25:28
because they're free of particular species of tapeworm,
25:32
Echinococcus. Yes. So there are the
25:35
5 countries that require it, and one of those is the UK.
25:39
You know your stuff, Gemma. You would have to,
25:43
but yeah. No, that's really interesting. Thank you.
25:47
Yeah, I mean, other countries outside of the EU, there are
25:51
additional requirements to return, but that's mainly based around the rabies
25:55
risk in those countries. So some countries categorised as a higher rabies
25:58
risk, risk area, so there are blood tests as well involved.
26:03
To be honest, most of, most people travelling are travelling into the EU
26:07
because that's convenient. You can drive there, you can get a ferry there, you're not
26:10
having to fly the pet. Most of the outside of EU travel is like
26:14
relocation rather than holidays in general.
26:18
Yeah. Do like, do people have to disclose to you like why
26:21
they're travelling? Do you ever get to see like what the stats are around that
26:24
or like? Do you get a feel? No, they have to confirm that it's not
26:28
a commercial move. So part of the Animal Health Certificate requirement
26:33
is, is also to prevent like illicit smuggling of pets,
26:36
basically. So they're, they're, the owner has
26:40
to sign something confirming it's a non-commercial move and
26:43
then they're not, they're not gonna transfer the ownership of the pet. But other than
26:47
that, we don't necessarily, I normally have a chat with what,
26:50
with the owner about what they're doing, but they don't have to tell me.
26:53
Anything. Yeah. They just have to be travelling with
26:57
their pet or within 5 days of their pet, and their pet can't be changing
27:01
ownership, basically. Yeah. So do you get a lot of kind of, as you
27:05
mentioned about going to the EU, but like, what about the US? Do like people
27:08
sort of, are they relocating over there a lot, or? In general relocating,
27:12
we do get the odd person that goes over there on holiday,
27:16
but we, we wouldn't advise that unless, unless your pet
27:20
is able to go in the cabin or, and, and you know that they're completely
27:24
You know, pretty relaxed. There's often a travel history with
27:28
those pets anyway that are going back and forth from the US.
27:31
But yeah, we do get a lot of people going to the US. We get,
27:34
we, we have historically had, um,
27:38
one of the, one of the owners who has family, lives in the US,
27:41
but has family in the UK and they get the, there's a ferry from
27:45
New York to Southampton that takes them. Oh, wow. You can
27:49
have dogs on that. So they don't want to fly there. Their lovely
27:53
boxer. So they come over on a yearly basis on the ferry, have a week
27:57
of chilling on the ferry before they come over. So yeah,
28:01
that's really lovely. I mean, like, yeah, because this is a funny thing, like,
28:05
I mean, again, it was on one of the stats I'd read earlier, but I
28:07
didn't read it out. I haven't got it to hand now, but that a lot
28:10
of people won't go on holiday currently because they're so attached to their animals and
28:14
don't want to leave them. I'm like this with my cats. I barely go away
28:17
because I just, I'm so attached to them. I don't want them to be at
28:20
home alone. And, but I would not, I couldn't take my cat away,
28:25
both cats. I know they get stressed travelling. They would not enjoy it.
28:29
They are much more comfortable being at home in the familiar smells with
28:33
their routine. And so, I know that, you know, the sensible head of me is
28:37
like, don't, don't take them. Don't even try to take them. But, you know,
28:41
I'd love them to be my little travelling pet and come away with me wherever
28:43
I went. But they haven't been brought up like that. So, it's just about being
28:46
sensible. Yeah. And not every pet is suitable and it's so important to have that
28:50
sensible head on. Yeah, yeah. When you're thinking
28:53
about it, because it's, it's just, yeah, not every pet
28:57
is. It looks so nice when you see people, you know, on a beach or
29:00
whatever, but your cats really don't want to be going
29:04
on ferry and being lugged about. They only ever get in the cat
29:07
crate to go to the vets. It's stressful. You know,
29:10
they're probably not that used to the car. Whereas dogs,
29:14
actually, we get a lot more people travelling with dogs because dogs are much more
29:17
used to going in the car. Do you think that will change? Because I know,
29:21
like you mentioned at the beginning, and I've seen it, I'm on social medias and
29:23
I've seen people take their cats now on holiday with them, like they're in the
29:27
car and they're travelling. What's your opinion on it? Do you think it's
29:31
the right thing to do? Do you think it'll change? So I think,
29:35
so we get some owners travelling with their cats.
29:39
We do get some people who have family in Europe and they're travelling
29:43
in there for a month or two over the summer holidays, and they're just leaving
29:47
the cats for that long is just not an option. And we would
29:50
advise you know, getting them used to the crate in advance, having a
29:54
larger crate in the car that they're really comfortable with, making sure there's
29:58
blankets, things that they're, you know, smells that they're
30:01
used to, et cetera. And like getting them used to that weeks
30:06
in advance rather than just springing them on, bring it on them, pop,
30:09
you know, like you do when you're taking them to the vets where you just,
30:12
you know, have the battle getting them into the crate. It's just,
30:16
it just takes more advanced planning and, and And I think maybe
30:20
it will become more of a common thing where people do take
30:24
their cats out with them in a way that people do
30:28
with dogs. But I suppose it's harder to do with cats because they've
30:32
not been domesticated in the same way as dogs. So lots
30:35
of cats are a bit more feral than dogs, and then
30:39
they're never going to be happy being on a harness on the end
30:43
of the lead, but then some cats Some cats are more domesticated and
30:47
more appropriate for that. So again, it's looking at the individual case and looking at
30:51
what's appropriate for them and, yeah, and being a sensible owner
30:55
around it. Yeah, you're right. 'Cause I adopted a cat many years
30:58
ago. He's no longer alive, bless him. Jagger, from Romania. And he
31:03
travelled to the UK by road and he was, I think,
31:06
adopted from the streets. So it does make me wonder now, you're just saying this,
31:10
like how he found that journey and what he experienced
31:14
and what they did consider because I didn't ask those questions. I just assumed it
31:17
would all be taken care of and that, you know, he would be brought
31:21
here to my home and that he would've been fine. But who
31:26
knows? I mean, he'd certainly lived to tell the tale 'cause he lived a ripe
31:29
old age. But yeah, I'm just thinking there, like, yeah, I wonder how he
31:32
experienced that. I was perhaps a bit terrified because it
31:36
was his first time and it was quite a long journey. Yeah.
31:39
So yeah. Yeah, it's all a bit of hindsight, isn't it? And a bit of
31:44
like these sorts of conversations that help you to think differently in future, which is,
31:48
I suppose, what we're hoping other people will think about when they come to travelling
31:52
or going on holiday and thinking about even like, yeah, adopting pets from other
31:56
countries. Yeah, absolutely. There have been a few, a lot
32:00
of issues with pets that have been adopted from,
32:03
you know, Romania and Eastern Europe that have got huge
32:07
behavioural issues. And it's really sad. We sometimes get clients who,
32:11
or owners who are saying, we're sending them back. Back to the rescue shelter,
32:13
and that's so sad because it's like, you know, that's a huge undertaking to travel
32:17
all the way to the UK and then have to be sent back.
32:20
It's like, that's just, makes you think the rescue
32:24
centre aren't really vetting. Yeah. Things in the
32:28
way they should. Because the problem in the UK is rescue centres almost vet too
32:32
much, to the point where it's such a nightmare trying to adopt a pet in
32:36
the UK that lots of owners have ended up going overseas to rescue
32:42
dogs, cats, because if you work, for example, or if you have children
32:46
or certain things, it will just be an automatic no-no,
32:50
which is a shame because then it means really great
32:54
owners are sometimes overlooked. But anyway, that's a whole other conversation.
32:58
I was about to say there's a lot there, isn't there? Because you're right,
33:00
it's about having the right questions to ask if you are in contact with
33:04
a charity about adopting a cat from, or a dog from overseas.
33:08
But then there's also, yeah, like sort of what to expect from
33:12
that animal as well and how you can help them adapt to
33:15
life here in the UK and all those things. So there's definitely
33:19
a topic there, Nat, 'cause for next time, I think. Yeah. If the rescue
33:23
centre knows that the, the pet has lots of behavioural issues,
33:26
which they should do, they should be really sort of vetting
33:30
if it's appropriate for them to undertake that journey.
33:34
Yeah. To, to a certain environment that, that might not work. And it's
33:38
just really heartbreaking when when they're having to then be sent back, basically.
33:42
Yeah. Which again, we, some, we, we see occasionally.
33:45
So yeah, I think it, it's the welfare of the
33:49
animal, as you know, as much as anything else. That's how I see it.
33:51
It's like, you know, they're, they're suffering or they're struggling and
33:55
not fitting in and then having to kind of readjust over
33:59
and over again. You know, that's as unkind as trying to take
34:03
something on and not being ready for it, I suppose. Yeah. We've got way
34:06
off topic. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, just to, I think we
34:10
do have a question, don't we, about improvements in terms of education and awareness
34:14
that we'd like to see with travel. But just one very practical question before we
34:18
wrap up that sort of sprung to mind. Is there such a thing as quarantine
34:21
now in countries? So when you travel, if your dog or
34:25
cat has to stay somewhere like in a kennel for an amount of time in
34:28
the country they're travelling to. Yeah. So good question. So part
34:32
of the sort of pet passport, EU pet passport
34:36
agreement was to eliminate the requirement for quarantine if it's, if it's been
34:40
completed properly. So if the AHCs are completed properly,
34:44
if the EU passport is completed properly, and the pet has a valid rabies
34:48
vaccine given in the right timeframe, and then if they're returning to the UK,
34:51
if they've had the Echinococcus treatment, the tapeworming treatment correctly,
34:55
there's no quarantine requirement. So that's with the EU.
34:58
Then there are, each country outside of the EU have, has a completely different
35:02
set of requirements. So they can change those requirements at any
35:06
point, and they may or may not notify the UK government.
35:09
So it gets a little bit complicated. Okay. So for example,
35:13
Australia, if you send a, a dog or cat to Australia,
35:17
they have to have either a 10 or 30-day quarantine when they
35:21
arrive, even if they've done everything correctly, had all the screening,
35:25
blood tests, vaccines, et cetera. So some countries still have
35:29
a quarantine requirement irrelevant of how much paperwork you get in advance. So yeah,
35:33
it's, there is still that requirement. And, and then again, if a pet
35:37
has come from a country where there's a high rabies risk and there's a worry
35:40
that the paperwork hasn't been completed correctly or something isn't valid,
35:43
then that will be a case of them being quarantined while everything's
35:47
looked into. It's so important to, to make sure as
35:51
an owner that you are checking all the requirements for the countries
35:54
you are going to avoid that situation basically. Because we do get
35:58
quite a few clients who clients who drive through the EU,
36:02
but don't realise that they're leaving the EU. Hmm.
36:06
Yeah. When they get to Eastern Europe, there are some countries that aren't in
36:10
the EU and they aren't in the Schengen Agreement. So if you go into those
36:13
countries and then re-enter the EU, if you haven't had the rabies blood test
36:17
done for your pet in the right timeframe, that can cause big issues and could
36:21
lead to long quarantine periods basically. So. Gosh. So yeah.
36:24
Yeah. Do you get frantic phone calls from people going, help?
36:27
We've never had that yet. Oh, good, good. We normally catch,
36:31
catch people those in advance and tell them either to drive a different
36:34
route if they don't have time to do the, do the correct things,
36:38
or yeah, or to hold off on going on that far,
36:41
basically. Good. Yeah, because I guess plans can change sometimes
36:45
at the last minute, especially if you're on the way and you have to do
36:47
a diversion. But yeah, I'm glad, glad no one's faced that then.
36:51
Yeah, yeah.
37:01
And then in terms of sort of more broadly thinking about travel
37:04
and improvements to pet travel, what would you like to see
37:08
change or be done differently? It would be good if
37:12
all forms of transport had more pet-friendly
37:17
areas. So ferries had, you know,
37:20
the pet cabin option or the pet lounge.
37:24
Which I think you had on, on the way to Jersey from the sounds of
37:27
things. Yeah. And also if there was more information at the point of booking about
37:31
when you are booking a pet to go on, on a long ferry, for example,
37:35
and they're staying in the car, what you need to do. So make sure you,
37:39
you are able to turn off your car alarms, make sure you're able to
37:43
leave the windows open. There are just so many things that a
37:47
bit more education at the point of booking and, and at the point of researching
37:51
these things would be would be good. And as, as you guys have pointed
37:55
out, it's a growing, there's a growing demand for, for travelling
37:59
with pets. So increasing the awareness of what, what that entails
38:03
is just so important so that the welfare of those
38:06
pets are met. Yeah. And it's a, it's a really amazing
38:11
thing to be able to just, you know, pack up the car and take your
38:15
dog or, you know, your cat if they're suitable away or over to
38:19
the EU or Or, or, you know, take them with you if you are relocating.
38:23
They're part of the family. They're not always suitable to rehome, but it's
38:27
just having more education and awareness around the different
38:30
options that are available. Um, and that's on
38:34
our website. We are trying to do that and then trying to
38:38
increase the information available, the FAQs, et cetera.
38:41
So there's a bit of a, and, and a sort of a platform just
38:45
for, for people to look, look things up like that. Great, Gemma. I was about
38:48
to ask, it was a great little segue, 'cause I was gonna say, like,
38:50
if people do want a bit of advice or are struggling to know what they
38:54
need to do next, if they are gonna go away, where is the best place
38:58
for them to look? So as an owner, you are the exporter travelling
39:02
with your pet, so you are responsible for meeting all the requirements of the
39:06
importing authorities. And it can be quite daunting because it's
39:10
not always easy to get in touch with the importing authorities. So the main
39:14
thing is to chat to your normal vet to
39:18
let them know about the fact you are travelling, and they can then either advise
39:21
you in-house or they can suggest companies like ours, like PassPets.
39:24
So companies that can help you with the list of steps
39:29
you need to take, then contact details for the
39:32
ferry company you are booking with or the Eurotunnel to check
39:36
with them what you're planning, to check that you've got the right information
39:40
and the right steps planned. The APHA, which is the
39:44
UK government branch that oversees pet travel, they, they do
39:47
have a, a pet travel helpline for people coming back into the
39:52
UK to check that you've got things right, particularly when travelling
39:55
from countries that have a higher rabies risk, 'cause it's really
39:59
important. You don't, you ideally don't want to, to have any sort of risk
40:03
of quarantine. Checking with airlines, checking with airports, there are so many.
40:06
It's, it's all about checking basically, because things
40:10
can change overnight. If there's a case of some sort of disease
40:13
somewhere, the airline or the importing authorities can just say,
40:17
okay, actually we want this as well. Right. Some airlines require
40:22
extra fitness to travel certification because they've had an issue with a
40:26
certain type of breed, or they'll just say, actually, no, now we
40:30
want a fit to travel certificate for all pets travelling
40:33
in this way to this country So there are little
40:37
nuances that are really important to just check and plan ahead,
40:41
basically. And I mean, you know,
40:44
we can say there's, there is loads of information on your own Past
40:48
Pets website, isn't there? There's plenty of blogs. I know you've got a load of
40:51
FAQs, which if people wanna check out, they see, they look really
40:55
helpful. And I've had a kind of look through, they look very kind of clear
40:59
and lots of different potential different pathways you might be thinking about, different travel
41:03
options you might be thinking about. So yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And, and it's
41:07
a case of working out, is it something that as an owner you want
41:10
to take on yourself? It's like if you're moving house to another country,
41:14
okay, are you going to sort out the logistics of that yourself, or are you
41:18
going to get a company to do everything for you? And there are, there are
41:22
pet travel companies out there, and they will sort out absolutely
41:26
everything. Okay. We are more of an
41:30
advisory, and we have our OVs that complete
41:34
the pet travel paperwork, but we are trying to help clients that
41:38
are looking to save costs and who are happy to do the booking
41:42
of their ferries, et cetera. So we
41:45
advise what you need to do, but we are not doing it for
41:49
the owners. So we are a lower cost option. So,
41:52
okay. That's where we come in basically.
41:56
That's great. And thanks for the distinction. And actually, I mean,
41:59
this was a question I had with a friend. About, they were worried
42:03
about the costs of it all. So, knowing there's options for people,
42:07
if they want the full package, they can go that way. If they need something
42:10
a bit simpler and a bit cheaper, they can come to you for just those
42:13
certain steps. So, yeah. Yeah. Thank you. That's, it's very helpful for people
42:17
to know. Yeah. Thank you. It's made me think about my next holiday and where
42:21
I'm going to go. Given that it's starting to feel like autumn now,
42:24
I'm like, where can I go next summer that I
42:28
can safely take Betty, that she'll be happy? Yeah.
42:32
To travel to and yeah, we can have a nice time together.
42:35
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. There's so many options out
42:39
there in terms of how you can travel, um, the costs
42:44
of doing different things, whether you do it all yourself
42:48
or if you do all the booking and the logistics planning yourself
42:51
and then, and then plan to book in with a service like ours where
42:55
we, we provide the, the veterinary health certification and
42:59
the advice of what to do. Yeah. Yeah. Um, there are,
43:02
the main thing is plan ahead. I think taking pets on holiday shouldn't
43:06
be necessarily, isn't, isn't a great idea as a, as a last minute on a
43:10
whim thing if you haven't done it before. Whereas if you've done it loads,
43:13
you go to France all the time, fine. But yeah, it's, if it's the first
43:17
time you're travelling, plan ahead. Think about your pet's temperament and think about how you're
43:21
travelling. Chat to your vet. Does your vet think they're suitable to travel? If yes,
43:25
then there's quite a high likelihood we will too. Yeah, lots of
43:29
takeaways there. Yeah, thank you. So, thank you. Yeah,
43:32
thanks for coming on, Gemma. No worries, guys. Been really helpful.
43:35
Yeah, so if anybody wants to check out the information on Past Pets,
43:39
it's pastpets.org.uk, and there's lots of information on
43:43
there if you want to find out any more about Gemma and the team there
43:46
that can help with anything that you are thinking about. Thank you so much.
43:49
Thank you for coming on. Yeah, thank you so much, guys, for having me.
43:53
Take care.