Pet travel: checks on pets by transport carriers
How sea, rail and air transport companies check that dogs, cats and ferrets travelling to Great Britain are following the pet travel requirements.
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This guidance provides information for sea, rail and air carriers on how to check pets entering Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).
Pet carriers and checkers are responsible for checking that the rules for bringing a pet into Great Britain are met, and dealing with:
- passengers with pets that do not meet the requirements
- suspected certification fraud
- suspect cases of disguised commercial activity
- suspect cases of smuggling, identified anytime between check-in and disembarking
- recording data of all pets that have travelled on their routes and any that are found to be non-compliant
Transport companies checking pets coming into Great Britain must be authorised by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
Contact the pet travel helpline to apply for authorisation as a transport carrier for pets.
Updates to this page
Published 1 June 2014Last updated 24 October 2024 + show all updates
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Carriers are now responsible for deciding whether an animal is a recognised assistance dog, informed by guidance from government and regulators.
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Added details about requirements for Canvac R and Canvac DHPPiL + R vaccine vaccinations.
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Published new guidance.
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Updated PT44
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Updated document
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AHVLA documents have been re-assigned to the new Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
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First published.