Pet passports for French resident animals

[vickybear]

Having recently returned to live in the UK I would like to let you all know what ACTUALLY happens if your pet has lived in France for a year and a half without having a rabies booster........

From various postings on this forum I had understood that I could not take my pets back to the UK without starting the whole jab / blood test fiasco again as they had not had booster jabs after a year, despite their UK jabs being valid for 2 years until April 2007.

Over and again posters said that the UK date is not valid and, as the pets are French resident they need a booster after a year.

I talked to a vet at the Department of the Environment, two quarantine kennels, my french vet and a uk vet. I even spoke to Thierry the customer services Manager at LD lines who all assured me that the passports were valid to April 2007 even though the pets had been in France since May 2005 wihtout any boosters.

Quaking at the thought of one or all of my FOUR animals being taken from me at Le Harve I went for it and 'sailed' through, no problem.

Did I totally misunderstand the postings? I was informed by Eurotunnel in a seperate email that I did not have to prove residency and basically they weren't interested where I'd been or for how long so long as I'd been in a participating country and the UK jabs were valid for re-entry ( plus worms, ticks 24-48 hours bla bla )

So, for anyone else who is as confused as I was, use LD lines and if you get stuck...ask for Thierry or Fred!!!

[Teamedup]

Had you misunderstood, no I don't think so. Animals become french residents very quickly, only three months and the boosters for french animals is every year.I'm due at the vets next week with our mut, so will ask there, unless the vet tells me something different or someone shows me something official then I have always read that dogs in France should have their rappel each year.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/factsheet/euvetfactsheet2.pdf 

If you open this link then you will find what it says about residence, near the bottom of the page and to be careful about obeying the rules of the country you are taking your animal to reside in.

I wouldn't have done as you have done. I would have obeyed french laws and vaccinated my animal within the year, there fore adhereing to french rules. I  think that you are really lucky that you resolved this to your satisfaction. I don't think that everyone will be as lucky if they do the same as yourself.

[BJSLIV]

Am I right in thinking that in France there is no compulsory vaccination, apart from Rabies in certain areas? However if you want a French Pet Passport then vaccination is necessary, and needs to be topped up every year.

This may explain how the dogs were able to escape to England.

As the dog had become resident it should have transferred to the French rules. However as it still had a valid UK Passport, it was  able to flee the country, like villain heading for Marbella,  without contravening UK rules.

In other words rules were being breached whilst in France, but it was sort of in the clear when returning to the UK.

 

 

 

 

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Teamedup"]

I wouldn't have done as you have done. I would have obeyed french laws and vaccinated my animal within the year, there fore adhereing to french rules. I  think that you are really lucky that you resolved this to your satisfaction. I don't think that everyone will be as lucky if they do the same as yourself.

[/quote]

In Vickybear's precise circumstances, you are wrong.

Our cats came out in November 2005 fully jabbed as per requirements. Their British pet passports have 2007 as the date for their boosters, ie - exactly as Vickybear - 2 years after the initial injections. Adhering to French requirements, we took the cats in last November (one year on) for their boosters and were told that the boosters were not due till this year. These are vets well-versed in applying the pet passport rules and regulations because this area is crawling with British families, both permanent residents and second home owners who bring their pets with them so this is clearly not the first time they've interpreted the regulations. The vets know we are residents.

We trust our vets but we love our pets so we consulted a second vet. Same response and a second refusal to give boosters to our cats. On this basis there would be no - as Vicky discovered - problem with returning the pets to the UK.

The circumstances that concern us are if there was an animal with rabies discovered to have been brought in on a boat - Manche and Calvados has a lot of coastline. According to French law the cats have not had an annual jab. I'm not sure how much notice would be taken by the detail of the law by an authority checking that local animals had a booster in the past 12 months. We explained this scenario to the vet but she still declined to give the boosters. But that's a side issue. Vickybear was adhering correctly to the passport requirements between France and Britain.

Live and learn, don't you TU? [:)]

[Cerise]

Vickybear hasn't done anything illegal but the rules are very unclear and a problem is that a French vet (other than the person's own) could refuse to give the tick treatment etc as in their eyes if the dog is French resident its passport is not up to date.   This would cause the owner problems if they were already on their way to the port for example.   Although Vickybear's dogs were OK, I think anyone who is French resident would be sensible to stick to the French rules.  The rabies jab is done with your other annual jabs so it is not as if conforming to the rules costs an arm and a leg.  Better safe than sorry.

Maggi

 

[dogwood]

Hi

Just to put a clearer note on this.

French resident dogs have to be vaccinated every year, The vet will issue the dog with a "Certificat de vaccination antirabique de rappel" this is not allowed to expire ( no booster injections after the one year  date)

As I understand it if your dog bites someone and you do not have this cert then the dog will be taken away and destroyed so an examination can be done to make sure it does not have rabies.

As for your dog being allowed back to the UK on its original English Pet Passport, Yes that is OK because it allows 2 years (sometimes 3) between boosters.

Dogwood

Just one final note        What about the  UK authorities being paranoid, but about the wrong things. WHY do you need to have your dog treated against tick and tapeworm 24 to 48 hours before you travel when this treatment lasts for a month ???????? [:@]  What about the ferry companys charging £30 to check your pets passport, when a car and 5+ people can trvel for the same sort of price, Ripoff or what[:@][:@]

 

[vickybear]

Well, all I can say is that I was very, very relieved to go through and get on the boat. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs and one of the cats is 22!! I don't know what we've have done if she'd have been refused but I'd have turned round for sure.

We hadn't planned to come back to the UK so the Passports were only really in the back of our minds. Our annual jabs and rabies booster dates differed so the poster who said they would be done at the same time was wrong in our case. When we had the annual jabs done the 'French' year was nearly up yet the French vet didn't mention this and we didn't know about the annual rabies booster at that time, relying just on the English re-vaccination date. When we discussed this with our French  ( well Dutch ) vet before our return he was adamant that the annual booster was not required. He actually said it was not required if they were staying in France either so I don't know if something was lost in translation there.

One thing I would warn you all about tho.....I said we sailed through but that was not strictly true. In the Pet Passport at the front there is a section for your vet to write the actual date the microchip is inserted. One one of the four passports he hadn't done this. I had read a previous post recommending you carry all paperwork with you so I had a record of the day the chip was inserted, BUT they hadn't put the date on the record for the chipping. It was an adoption certificate for my rescue dog and the adoption was dated ( done same day as chip ). I told the check in at Le Harve it was the same day but she ummed and arrged and picked up the phone.

At this point I mentioned 'Thierry' and it was like saying 'abracadabra'. Suddenly all was ok. She asked what he'd said, I said he'd said the passports were ok ( well, he did!!!! ) and she let us through.

So please, please check everything in your passport os completed in full and ALWAYS carry your supporting paperwork, blood results, microchip certificates etc. LD lines were great, I visited the pets during the sailing, the ship is very nice too.

[Quillan]

Both our French and English vets said that our dog could travel back and forth on its UK passport for two years and that the passport was valid in both countries (and transient countries like if we were traveling through France to Spain). At the end of the two years, well the day before, we had to have a French jab and a French certificate issued after which it had to be done every 364 days to avoid going through the whole proceedure again. At this point we could throw the old UK pet passport away although it's a good thing to keep for things like chip information (to proove roughly when the chip was roughly fitted).

What I did find interesting is that from the little stickers they put on the form taken from the bottle/vial that the vacine came from was from the same company and was the same drug (different batch number obviously). It just made me wonder why 2 years is given in the UK and one in France, do the French know something the UK doesn't or is it a belt and braces job.

As it happens we have never taken him back to the UK so I don't know about the ticks jab.

When we came from the UK via the shuttle they had a quick glance at the papers, put a big sticker on the car and gave us a piece of paper with a map (how to find the office in the French terminal) should we be pulled over when we arrived in France. Well there was nobody there and we drove straight out with no problem, perhaps they watched us on CCTV. BUT I have to say that it was a few years back and things may well of changed but seeing as the system was fairly new then I would have thought the people would be very keen and pull everyone and check everything.

Likewise we travel back and forth to Spain quite a bit and Sam is very visible on the back seat and nobody has ever asked at the border crossing for his papers, perhaps I am lucky.

So I think that in this instance vickybear is spot on but as she says, check and check again just to be sure about your own animal as your situation may be different.

[dogwood]

Quillan: As it happens we have never taken him back to the UK so I don't know about the ticks jab.

 

Hi Quillan. Your pet should be treated for ticks and fleas every month. (I use Frontline drops.) If your animal picks up a tick and is not removed it can be very dangerous to it's health. I lost one of my dogs within the first year of being here because I didn't know about the danger's.

Dogwood 

[Quillan]

Sorry, we do the Frontline thing but I was refering to the jab 24/48 hours before you leave and the paperwork involved and if it's checked etc or are you saying you can just Frontline them and thats it? As I said I don't know much about this bit first hand as we have never taken him back.

[Teamedup]

The jab is against the worms and the frontline for ticks and fleas and the vet has to do both these things 24 hours before traversing and duly marks the paperwork.

I must say that I really don't understand why everything written states that an animal becomes the resident of another country after three months and yet the passport is valid for two years from the UK.

I am going to have to check all this as we are going back.

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Cerise"]

Although Vickybear's dogs were OK, I think anyone who is French resident would be sensible to stick to the French rules.  

[/quote]

Agreed. If your vet will allow you to do so. [;-)]

[Jacqui Too]

When we brought our dog back last Sept. she had Frontline for flees and ticks and Milbemax tablets for worms, No Jabs. Cost 38,90€

Our rabbies vac. valid for 3 years for returning to UK. But if we Lived in France I understand that it would have needed to have annual boosters!

Chipie

[vickybear]

Someone needs to get a representative from Defra to read this post!!    There is so much confusion and conflicting information out there and these animals are as important to us as our two legged family members.

All I can say is that we're back. I stopped before I got to Le Havre and actually put my hands together to have a quick word with the Big One!!    AND I'd done enough research to write a book before I got there.  I actually left France a day before my husband just so I had time to turn round and come back and had organised a 7 month stay in our local kennels /cattery in SW France should it have been required, giving me time to get jabs / bloods and a 6 month wait out of the way.

I am not a stupid person.....I'm normally quite bright [8-)] but this whole process was a confusing and conflicting nightmare from start to finish. I will never, ever take my pets out of the UK again.....just in case I DID get lucky last time!

The 3 month rule is on the DEFRA site somewhere....you have to read everything, open all links....look at the info for Vets too. Then when you are totally confused and stressed, if you can....just leave the pet at home!!

Anyway, it's a beautiful day here in Devon and we're off to the beach. Hope you are all having a lovely day too. Au revoir!  Ta ta!

[Quillan]

Where I see the confusion is that the UK rules are different to the French on when a booster is to be given. The issue is that we are talking about going BACK to the UK within the two year period from when the UK passport was given. As entry is in to the UK then UK law will apply to animals entering the UK.

France accepts UK pet passport but if you are in France at the time the UK passport expires then you join the French system. You have to be in one or the other to move your animal between France and the UK (and other EU states).

In this particular case the person returned to the UK within the 2 year period that the UK passport was valid. If the dog had been away 3 years then they would have a French 'passport' which is 'renewed' anually.

Back to the Ticks. If you buy the worming tablets and Frontline stuff how do you prove the animal has had them or do you have to got to go to the vet and let them administer the drugs and stamp a form. Sounds a good little earner if thats the case, we buy Frontline off the internet where it's cheaper, the vets you pay top dollar plus a fee to do a 2 minute job. Easy money?.

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Chipie"]

When we brought our dog back last Sept. she had Frontline for flees and ticks and Milbemax tablets for worms, No Jabs. Cost 38,90€[/quote]

38,90€ = 

Consultation  23,50€, Included examination of health eg. fit to travel

Milbemax x2   3,01€

Frontline         6,02€

Tva                6,37€

Chipie

[vickybear]

Our vet did all of the above and only charged one consultation fee. Amazingly the whole charge for 2 cats and 2 dogs was less than 70 euros. I'd gone in fully prepared for around 150 euros so it was a very pleasant surprise. He'd completed all 3 sections on the passport, ticks, worms and health check and he did carry out a good health check on all 4. This vet is M. Vanden Bulcke-Dufour based in Montemboeuf, Charente dept 16 ( just inside 16, not far from Dordogne!! )

[mint]

vickybear

may i pm you for his number and/or address, please?

[dogwood]

Hi

My dog is French resident she is now 4 years old and has been back to England 10+ times in her life.

We have NEVER had problems, Maby we have been lucky but I do not find the prosess difficult at all.

I take my dog to the vet in the morning the day before we intend to leave for England. He  gives the dog a worm pill (Drontal) and uses the Frontline drops I bring with me. He then fills in the passport with the time and date of the treatment ( It must be done 24 to 48 hrs before leaving France) Usualy costs about 35€ total inc a quick examination.

That is all you have to do to take your dog back to the UK.

My only gripe in all this is, 35€ for the treatment BUT 50€ for the ferry/tunnel co's to check the treatment has been done!![:@][:@]

Dogwood

 

[Nettie]

Years ago we used to vaccinate our animals every year for the parvo virus, distemper, leptospirosis etc.  Therefore the rules were annual vaccinations, you will find this is still the case in many kennel facilities in the UK, it is the same in France.  Then the drugs companies did more research and decided/realised we were over vaccinating so they changed the protocol to say vaccinating should be done every 2 years except for leptospirosis which still needs to be vaccinated against annually.  Last year the protocol was changed to vaccinations every 3 years for parvo virus, distemper etc.  The protocol has also changed for the rabies vaccination from annually to 2 years and now to 3 years.  Defra's rules are the animals must be vaccinated for rabies according to the manufacturer's instructions which now seems to be every 3 years.  France had the rule that rabies vaccinations should be given annually because that is what the drug manufacturers protocol was at the time the regulations were made, the drug manufacturer's have changed their protocol but France has not.  The same manufacturers are making the rabies vaccination for UK and French vets.

 

 

[vickybear]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

vickybear

may i pm you for his number and/or address, please?

[/quote]

 

Hi there,

I've sent you an email but just in case you don't get it his number is 0545 65 00 45 and I think he actually is M Vanden-Bulcke Dufour. He's the boss man anyway. You can go without appointment in the morning for innoculations but the afternoon is appointment only ( actually that may be the other way round so you'd best check ). They're all lovely and all try to speak English so with a smattering of French you get there, although M Dufour and another young male vet speak perfect English.

Best vets I've ever been to ( despite pet passport confusion which I blame the husband for anyway!! )

 

Good luck.

 

 

[mint]

vickybear

thanks for going to all that trouble.  that sounds splendid, i will look him up in pages jaunes and find out his location.

a good vet is worth his/her weight in gold because, you know how it is with your animals, you go into handwringing mode in no time!

[Johnaw]

My vet has always been happy for me to take my own Frontline along.  So long as he sees me apply it in front of him he's happy to sign the papers.

[Nettie]

I buy Drontal Plus online, it works out much cheaper when you're treating 3 dogs, also buy Frontline online.  Our French vet always asks me if I have both with me.  He then actually treats the dogs himself.  It costs us 55 euros to have all 3 dogs treated and passports signed.