Bringing a pet to Spain for hidays

[wendy]

Hi, our cat is a Spanish cat we took her home to thre uk in 2011, we didn't keep up the rabies vaccine as we didn't plane going back however now we are retired we planned on going back 3 times a year for a month and would have to take our cat with us, I still have her old Spanish passport but on ringing the vets they tell me the health cert is £229 PER TRIP, this seems a lot, I know someone said he takes his dog down 3 times a year, is this really the cost??

[Lincoln45]

Check out Passpets

https://www.passpets.co.uk/animal-healt ... icate-cost

How much do Animal Health Certificates cost?

There is no set price for Animal Health Certificates; vet practices and travel clinics are free to charge what they like. As a result, prices vary massively.

Based on feedback from our customer base, the average price vet practices charge is around £220-250 per pet (most practices do not discount additional pets). This aligns with research done by the Guardian in 2021.

At PassPets, standard Animal Health Certificates cost £99 for the first pet and £50 per additional pet, with a 10% discount for repeat customers.

do read the complete article. the last section contains contact details

[stowie39]

I'm afraid there is no way round the AHC for your initial visit. British Vets can neither issue or add to a EU pet passport (Brexit the gift that keeps on giving). Its not a quick or cheap process to get the rabies up to date, blood tests take about three months if I remember correctly. Allow plenty of time prior to your first trip

Once in Spain however you should be able to get a European pet passport for future visits, which reduces the costs and the admin hassle. You may well have to have additional rabies shots, even if your UK one is current - we did.

[wendy]

Thanks for the info, the rabies were 3 months when we bought our cat over a few years ago it is only 3 weeks now thank goodness, interest in the pet pass so if you have that you don't need the expensive one to travel over next time and the UK will accept this sorry to be a pain but we want to get this right as we are coming over 3 times a year we want to keep the cost down a little, many thanks x

[stowie39]

We travel with our dog twice a year with no problems. Not sure on the rules for cats but all the information you will need is on the DEFRA website https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad
For the dogs we have to take them to a vets 5 days before we travel for a health check and tapeworm treatment this is then entered in the passport and we just present that at the channel tunnel pet check in.

[Bee]

Stowie39 am I reading your post correctly. You say you get a tapeworm treatment before travelling from UK to France/Spain. There was never a requirement for a tapeworm treatment when entering France and Spain with your pet on an EU Pet Passport. Has that changed? I know you have to get the treatment before returning to UK, Ireland and a couple of other countries with your pet.

Bee

[stowie39]

No sorry the only requirement for a vets visit is prior to entering the UK. If you are travelling on a pet passport you do not need to see a vet before you leave.

The only checks that are made at the Tunnel are that the microchip and passport are up to date and correspond to the dog you are travelling with.

[Bee]

Thanks for clearing that up. I was getting worried that more red tape was being introduced. I wonder what happened to the EU and UK accepting each others Pet Passports. Fell off the table I suppose

Bee

[wendy]

Hi I have been looking around at prices for this, I have come across this one, that let's you pick up your certificate in Kent on the way to to the crossing (rabies already done) it is £99 and 30 less for future trips it looks really good, has anyone tried them.
https://www.animalhealthcertificates.com/book-now-ahc

[wendy]

Anyone??