Eurostar: Passengers with Pets

Baroness Sharples Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2015 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Sharples]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Eurostar about allowing passengers to travel with pets.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con)]

My Lords, Defra has not had any recent discussions with Eurostar on this issue. Government does not impose any obligation on transport companies to carry pet animals; it is a commercial decision on the part of those companies as to whether they offer this service to their customers. Eurostar does offer carriage to recognised assistance dogs, and works closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency to make sure that all the relevant import requirements are met.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

My Lords, passports for pets has been 100% successful, has it not? I was involved in that from the beginning, with my noble friend Lord Soulsby. Why, oh why, will Eurostar not take pets? You can take your dog on the sleeper to Scotland, and all the ferries take dogs, so why not the Eurostar?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, as I say, this is a matter on which commercial companies make their own decisions. I looked at Eurostar’s website, and it is conscious of and concerned about safety in particular, although it is very keen to help with assistance dogs. I acknowledge the part my noble friend played in passports for pets. We now have an EU pet travel scheme, which last year carried over 170,000 dogs, cats and ferrets.