Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether people travelling with assistance dogs to the EU will face disruption at EU borders at (a) train stations, (b) ports and (c) airports in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

The Government understands that assistance dog users, who have become familiar with the benefits of using the EU Pet Travel Scheme to travel to EU Member States, are concerned about the changes that could take place when the UK leaves the EU.

In any exit scenario owners of assistance dogs from the UK will still be able to travel to the EU with their animals. After exit we want owners of assistance dogs to be able to take their animals to the EU with the minimum of disruption.

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal and becomes an unlisted third country under the EU Pet Travel Scheme, assistance dogs would need to be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies, as now, but would also need to undergo a blood titre test to demonstrate that their rabies vaccination has been effective.

On 25 March 2019 Defra issued updated guidance on pet travel to Europe after Brexit, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit. This advises of the contingency planning owners should consider to make sure their animals can travel to the EU in the scenario that the UK is not granted listed third country status under EU Pet Travel Scheme rules. The guidance advises owners to contact their vet at least four months before travelling to get the latest advice.

Defra has submitted an application for the UK to become a listed country under the EU pet travel regulations. Should the UK become a Part 1 listed country, there would be little change to the current arrangements, with only minor changes needed for documentation and, in most cases, no change for owners from what they currently need to do in terms of their animal’s health preparation. It is now for the EU Commission to consider our application for listed status.

We continue to work with assistance dog organisations to share the latest advice and guidance (in accessible formats) with their members. We will also work with carriers to ensure that assistance dog owners have the correct health preparation and documentation to enable them to enter the EU. When further information becomes available it will be published on GOV.UK. Email alerts on pet travel can be subscribed to at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications. We will also ensure that vets who issue pet travel documents have the most up to date information.