Following Britain's departure from the EU, the country has been given Part 2 Listed status with regard to pet travel. This means that pets (cats, dogs and ferrets) travelling from Britain to the EU must now have an Animal Health Certificate in English and the language of the country in which they enter the EU (not necessarily the same as the country their destination country) dated within 10 days of travel. The AHT certifies that the pet has been: microchipped, vaccinated against rabies (at or after 12 weeks of age), must wait 21 days from the rabies vaccination to the date of travel and, if a dog, that it has received tapeworm treatment. An AHC is valid for 4 months for onward travel in the EU or for return to the UK. In order to return to the UK, an animal will need to be treated for tapeworm within 24–120 hours before re-entry, and for this to be signed and stamped on the AHC by an EU vet.
An AHC is required every time a pet travels to the EU from the UK and can be used to a maximum of five pets per owner, unless traveling to an event. For an official veterinarian (OV), this means greater time taken as a result of the increased length of the AHC in comparison to the Pet Passport, and more time spent on this work because the AHC is valid for 4 months but required for every trip to the EU outside of that period. Pet owners will find they need to be more organised, allow plenty of time to obtain an appointment with the OV within the specified timeframe of within 10 days of travel, and expect a greater cost based on the extra time pressures for OVs the AHCs bring.
There has been no change to the current health preparations or documents for pets entering Great Britain from the EU or Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021. Now Great Britain has left the EU, the government can set its own importation and in-bound pet travel criteria to maintain the health of Britain's pet population, but this will be dependent on political drive at home. While in order to simplify pet travel for pet owners, Britain will likely require the EU to green light any proposed simpler system. In other words, there is a trade off between tightening up animal import criteria and simplifying pet travel.
Aside from the changes to pet travel requirements, this issue of UK-Vet Companion Animal features the second in Cheryl Corral's series on canine rehabilitation through physiotherapy. The first covered the best physiotherapeutic techniques for recovery from back injuries, this issue's paper covers the rehabilitation of injuries to the canine elbow. The first of a two-part series focusing on the management of vertebral fractures and luxations in dogs and cats debuts in this month's issue. Part 1 covers the diagnosis and prognosis of such injuries. An article from Vicki Baldrey on gastrointestinal disease in hamsters discusses commonly seen conditions. Finally, a case study from James Rushton offers an insight into ocular drug delivery using subpalpebral lavage systems, discussing the surgical techniques used in each canine case. The team hopes you enjoy this issue of UKVet Companion Animal, and encourage you to get in touch with feedback or ideas for articles.