Pet Travel Expert

Ten years ago this week, pets were allowed to begin pet traveling to and from the UK without being put into quarantine, as long as they fulfilled the necessary pet import requirements to prove that they were rabies free.  This system, the Pet Travel Scheme or PETS, has since then successfully prevented rabies from entering the historically rabies-free country, while making life easier for travelers with pets.

From DEFRA, the governing body of agriculture imports and exports in the UK:

A pug called Frodo Baggins was the first animal to travel with a pet passport and since then around 60 per cent of the pets travelling under the scheme have belonged to UK owners. Animals from Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands make up about another 20 per cent. The scheme was set up in response to growing demand from owners to travel with their pets and the declining risk of disease allowed these changes to be made. In 2004 the European Union followed the UK's lead and introduced a similar system for all Member States which has also proved very successful.

See our Moving Pets to the UK page for more information on moving pets to London or anywhere else in England!