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How Brexit May Ruin Fido’s EU Holiday

Britons Taking Pets to EU After Brexit Warned to Visit Vet Soon

(Bloomberg) -- Britons planning to take their pets with them on holiday to France need to see a veterinarian four months in advance, in case the government doesn’t reach a deal with the European Union.

The latest batch of “no deal” preparation papers warn that the current Pet Passport program, which allows owners to take dogs, cats and ferrets to another EU country so long as it has a microchip and a rabies vaccination, would no longer be available.

These passports require just 21 days notice, and make traveling with pets straightforward.

While the U.K. says it hopes to continue that system with only minor changes, it acknowledges that, without a divorce agreement, a vet would need to examine the pet at least four months before it traveled, and then return a month later for a blood test.

Finally, the owner would have to visit the vet again up to 10 days before traveling, to get a certificate. When the pet arrived in the EU it would have to go to a designated point of entry to present its documentation.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at fjackson@bloomberg.net, Emma Ross-Thomas

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.