The Government is working with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) to ensure there is sufficient veterinary capacity in the United Kingdom.<\/p>
<\/p>
Currently all pet dogs, cat and ferrets leaving the UK for other EU countries are required to have rabies vaccinations, therefore leaving the EU is unlikely to significantly impact on veterinary capacity to carry out vaccinations.<\/p>
<\/p>
In the unlikely event that the United Kingdom leaves the EU without a deal and the UK is an unlisted third country under the EU Pet Travel Scheme (PTS) there would be some additional requirements that veterinarians would need to carry out to so that their clients\u2019 pets could travel to the EU. These would be taking a blood sample for rabies antibody testing at an approved blood testing laboratory. However, provided a pet has an up-to-date rabies vaccination there would be no need to repeat the blood test during the animal\u2019s lifetime. Should the UK become an unlisted third country after leaving the EU there may be an impact on demand for rabies serology tests in UK laboratories. We are preparing for an increase in demand on laboratories for these tests to enable pet owners to continue to visit the EU with their animals under all exit scenarios.<\/p>
<\/p>
For each trip a pet animal makes from the UK to the EU its owner would need a health certificate. Both the blood sample and health certificate would need to be completed by an Official Veterinarian (OV) authorised to issue pet travel documents. There are currently over 9,600 OVs authorised to issue pet travel documents in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs are responsible for pet travel documentation.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4033", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Rutley"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Macclesfield"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "David Rutley"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-15T17:59:36.76Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pet Travel Scheme"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is adequate veterinary capacity to meet the demand for (a) rabies (i) vaccinations and (ii) testing and (b) the issuing of health certificates for pets travelling to the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/252", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr David Drew"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stroud"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr David Drew"} ], "uin" : "190334"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1005701", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1005701/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We recognise the uncertainty for owners and vets regarding pet travel requirements after the UK leaves the EU. This is why we have issued practical advice to pet owners. On 6 November Defra issued advice on Pet travel to Europe after the UK leaves the EU, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-after-brexit<\/a><\/p> This gives advice to pet owners planning to take their pet to any EU country on the rules they would need to follow in the unlikely event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.<\/p> It is important that owners understand any potential changes to pet travel after our departure from the EU to help inform their decision on whether to incur veterinary costs. To make sure a pet is able to travel from the UK to the EU after 29 March 2019 in any scenario, owners should contact their vet at least four months before travelling to get the latest advice.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4033", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Rutley"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Macclesfield"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "David Rutley"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-15T17:58:14.153Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pet Travel Scheme"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether pet owners will be compensated for following Government advice on preparing for the UK leaving the EU without a deal by paying for blood titre testing of rabies antibody levels ahead of travelling to the EU after 29 March 2019 in the event that an agreement is then reached.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/252", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr David Drew"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stroud"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr David Drew"}
], "uin" : "190335"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002575", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002575/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Defra Group Energy usage and total cost is published each year as part of our Annual Report and Accounts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018<\/a><\/p> <\/p> Table 1, attached, is an extract of the sustainability section and is our Greening Government Commitment performance which includes the following bodies:<\/p> <\/p>