DEFRA / Microchip / Vaccine / Blood Test

[Sharkster]

The procedures

• Have your pet microchipped
  Before any of the other procedures for PETS are carried out,
  your pet must be fitted with a microchip so that it can be properly
  identified.

• Have your pet vaccinated
  After the microchip has been fitted your pet must be vaccinated against
  rabies. There is no exemption to this requirement, even if your pet
  has a current rabies vaccination

• Arrange a blood
  test
  After your pet has been vaccinated, it must be blood tested
  to make sure that the vaccine has given it a satisfactory level of protection
  against rabies.

I know there is an FAQ on this subject (which I have read) and hopefully this will not be classed a duplicate thread, but it can be added to the FAQ later if I can get some good responses.  Anyway, we decided that we would get a PET passport and having read the FAQ etc. we found out the procedure.  So I went to the vet today and had a microchip fitted, another rabies jab and a blood test done.  My dogs last rabies jab was in October so until reading up I thought we would have been OK to travel to England but was wrong.  So at the vet he had his chipped fitted and blood test and when I asked about another rabies jab the lady was suprised since he is not due a booster until October, but she said it would not harm him so gave him the injection.

She then completed all the necessary paperwork and gave my dogs blood and paperwork to send off to the relevant lab for testing.  This is the first thing that seemed strange, since they are so strick in the UK about quarantine etc. yet I am allowed to send off the blood myself.  Is this the correct procedure / has other in France experience the same?  Also she put down the date of his last test as October, will this be OK for him getting into England in 6 months if the test comes back fine.  Also the blood sample is only marked with my dogs name and my name, but not his chip number (which is on the accompanying form) is this OK?  I want to make sure we get everything right as we need to make sure he is ready to travel as soon as possible, so we can have peace of mind for the future.  Looking at the DEFRA wording it seems we have but my concerns lie with the fact she put down the October date when he did not have a chip fitted and that we are sending the blood ourselves.

[trumpet]

Hiya Sharky,

I am assuming this all happened here in France. Yes, all seems correct. The result will be sent back to you. You can then take to the vet. It is then six months before you doggie can travel. I to, thought this is strange trusting me to post off the sample, so I asked the Vet to do it and gave him the necessary payment. I think you have to wait six months from the chip insertion etc.

Might be worth getting some other info.

 

[Sharkster]

Yep all happened here today in France.  So since he has had the chip fitted today and the blood test done and another jab, we just have to wait 6 months from the date we receive a positive test for him to travel to the UK.  He can travel to most other European countries I think with the exception of Denmark who have the same procedure as the UK.

[Sharkster]

What documentation do you need to travel to the UK.  When we go will we just need to show the pet passport with the vet stamp confirming a successful test over 6 months ago or would be required to show his certificate to prove he had a positive blood test.  If we have to show the certificate does it state the date of the last rabies jab?  If so since he was only fitted with a chip today and vaccinated again, his certificate may be invalid. Any ideas?

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Sharkster"]What documentation do you need to travel to the UK.  When we go will we just need to show the pet passport with the vet stamp confirming a successful test over 6 months ago or would be required to show his certificate to prove he had a positive blood test.  If we have to show the certificate does it state the date of the last rabies jab?  If so since he was only fitted with a chip today and vaccinated again, his certificate may be invalid. Any ideas?
[/quote]

Hi Sharkster

Everything will be recorded in the Pet Passport.

After you recieve the notification that your pet has had a satisfactory blood test you go along to the vet and you will receive a EU pet passport. 

Below is a quote from DEFRA

"If your pet’s blood test is satisfactory, you should ask a vet (in Great Britain a Local Veterinary Inspector) to issue you with an EU pet passport. You will not be able to bring your pet into the UK under the Scheme until 6 calendar months have passed from the date that the blood sample was taken that gave a satisfactory result."

A satisfactory blood test IS a satisfactory blood test irrispective of when it is taken,as long as the dog was chiped at the time, so if your dog was tested today and that test is satisfactory then your dog will be eligible to enter Britain on 30th December 2007 provided you also have him  visit the vet between 24 and 48 hours before travel for his worming, tic treatment and health check all loged, signed and dated in his passport correctly.

Can I ask a question ?[Www] Why was the dog not chiped when he had the first vacination, I thought all dogs in France had to be chiped!

Chipie

 

[Sharkster]

I am unsure of what the regulations are in France but we purchased him from a pet shops and rather than being chipped he was tatood which is unacceptable for of identification in the UK (so I have learned).  So even though he had his first jab in October and another one today, as long as this test comes back positive we will be OK to travel at the end of December as long as we do the additional tic thing?

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Sharkster"]I am unsure of what the regulations are in France but we purchased him from a pet shops and rather than being chipped he was tatood which is unacceptable for of identification in the UK (so I have learned).  [/quote]

I thought that might be the case

Good luck in finding someone to foster him

Chipie

[Sharkster]

Thanks.  We may not need to go down that route after all.

[Sharkster]

Got a call from the vet today and my dog failed his blood test.  He is off back in at the end of the month for his resits, so hopefully he will pass second time.

[Nettie]

That's quite rare, is the vet going to give him a booster first?  When we first had the puppy vaccinated for rabies my vet vaccinated him twice with a 3 week space between vaccinations but then that''s a puppy and something that is also done with first puppy vacs, for some reason vaccinations don't seem to take as well in puppies, something to do with immunity they still carry from their mothers.

[Sharkster]

After he had his first blood test he had a booster jab then, so he is good for another test at the end of the month.  I read on here somewhere that it is about an 80% pass rate after one jab and 90% after 2 so fingers crossed.  Also it seems in France they do not use a live vaccine where in the UK I think they do, which may affect the pass rate.

[Jacqui Too]

Last year I had the first of my three dogs vaccinated, I was given the choice of either having two initial jabs two weeks apart (belt and braces) and then a blood test  4 weeks later or just the one and then the blood test, I opted for just the first jab ( to save money) alas the blood test came back nagative [:-))] so my dog then had a further jab and blood test, I only had to pay for the second bood test as the manufacturer of the vaccine gave a free second jab , this time it worked and I got my passport, My vet said that they had had several  failing the blood test at that time so by the time I came to have my other dogs done they had changed manufacturers but again I was offered two initial jabs and although I still went with just a single jab both dog passed first time [:D]

So I'm sure you dog will pass this next time as he has had two jabs now, and by the time your second blood test is taken the second jab will have had time to work on gaining the antibobies needed for a possitive test.

Chipie

[Sharkster]

Funny you should mention the brand, the second jab he had was a different brand from the first.  This one was Rabisin, cannot recall what the other one was though but it was definately different.  I thought they were different since this one was a booster but fingers crossed he will pass this time.

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Sharkster"]Funny you should mention the brand, the second jab he had was a different brand from the first.  This one was Rabisin, cannot recall what the other one was though but it was definately different.  I thought they were different since this one was a booster but fingers crossed he will pass this time.[/quote]

Just had a look at the passports, the first one which had to have two jabs ( not J.P ) [Www]  sorry about that! was 'Quantum' and the other two were 'Nobivac'

Chipie

 

[Deimos]

Is nobody going to correct the errors and

incorrect advice in the above ?

Ian

[Nelson]

Ian

If you know what the errors and incorrect imfomation are then perhaps you could post to correct these errors so that we all know the correct procedure.

regards colin

[trumpet]

Second that, one eye.

[Deimos]

I've written about the procedures so many times

(and been treated so badly by those admin'ing this forum) I do not

post here. However, it does get me a bit irritated when people who

do not know the rules start to explain them (with errors and

omissions) to others - others who may be taken-in and get it wrong

and have their plans messed-up !!

For example, I could see no mention about the

regulations specific to French dogs who are tatoo'd. It was

mentioned that tatoos are not acceptable ID for entry into the UK but

there are special regulations covering tatooed French pets.

If people

[Nettie]

[quote user="Deimos"]

I've written about the procedures so many times (and been treated so badly by those admin'ing this forum) I do not post here. However, it does get me a bit irritated when people who do not know the rules start to explain them (with errors and omissions) to others - others who may be taken-in and get it wrong and have their plans messed-up !!

For example, I could see no mention about the regulations specific to French dogs who are tatoo'd. It was mentioned that tatoos are not acceptable ID for entry into the UK but there are special regulations covering tatooed French pets.

If people

[/quote]

Since Sharkster has had his dog microchipped the fact the dog is tatooed is irrelevant as regards a passport and the dog entering the UK. 

[Deimos]

The original post attempts to define "the

procedures" and contains omissions (important in some cases).

Later posts also contain errors. The thread was not a "guess

what happened to me" type of thread but one that is attempting

to repeat the procedures to others - something done many times

before.

Nettie's reaction is a classic example of why I

just don't bother here any more. Try to prompt people to correct

factual errors an omissions and you get "little digs". So

mislead others - why should I care. Providing correct information

for people is not one of this forum's strengths. In fact it has

developed quite a reputation for just "getting it wrong"

and these days people take its advice very much at their own peril.

Ian

[Sharkster]

Deimos

I just copied and pasted the info from the DEFRA site hoping for some clarification.  I am unsure if the information is incorrect, since I have also been told by a UK quarantine kennel without a chip, the process cannot be started.  I am happy to listen if this is wrong, I am aware it is too late for me, but an explanation, link or anything would be useful for other posters in the future.

[Nettie]

[8-)] oh well I think what I posted was fact and a failed to spot any dig and none was certainly intended.

I think probably the best thing to do when passports come up again is refer the OP to the Defra site n'est pas?

[Russethouse]

For reference here are the pet related threads Deimos has contributed to this year.

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/920064/ShowPost.aspx 

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/914663/ShowPost.aspx 

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/909897/ShowPost.aspx 

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/907054/ShowPost.aspx

[Deimos]

The Tatoo issue was an example of the

errors/omissions in this thread. Cutting and pasting part of a

reference is actually eliminating part of the information you did not

cut and paste (or other related information). To follow the example of the tatoo issue, part of

DEFRA's regulations include:

In view of this system, the British authorities

changed the law to accept as PETS compliant those French-resident

dogs and cats that have first been tattooed, then vaccinated against

rabies, blood tested at a recognised laboratory and then

microchipped, provided that the vet has seen the registration

document showing the tattoo number.

Posting information here is just far too hard

work.

Ian

[Jacqui Too]

 

Here is the Info regarding Tatooed dogs and cats that I think Deimos refered to. It was taken today from the DEFRA factsheet 3 issued on 18th. June 2007.

 

Annex A

TATTOOED DOGS AND CATS

To enter the UK under PETS, dogs and cats must be fitted with a microchip, then vaccinated against rabies, and then blood tested.

But for dogs and cats in France, for dogs in Belgium, Denmark and Sweden, and for pedigree dogs in Poland, there is a different system of preparation i.e. tattoo, vaccination, blood test and finally microchip. Pets’ details must be recorded on national registers.

The UK allows dogs from France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and pedigree dogs from Poland, and cats from France, that have been prepared in accordance with national rules to enter the UK under PETS. The vet must have issued either an EU pet passport or, before 1 October 2004, an official PETS certificate, confirming that he/she has seen the national registration document showing the tattoo number. French law no longer requires animals to be tattooed if they have been microchipped. They can also now be microchipped before being vaccinated and blood tested. 

This derogation only applies for those pets in countries where a national mandatory identification and registration system applies.

Dogs and cats that are identified solely by tattoo do not meet the rules of the Pet Travel Scheme.

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Chipie