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More than 3 pets - help needed - who has done it


Mlonghurst
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Hi,

I have been following several threads here and on the Total France Forum (great places for info) and had a number of responses (many different responses).

Our problem is that we have 2 x cats and 5 dogs (4 male and 1 female - spayed). All are microchipped and up to date with vaccinations and rabies checked. The dogs are also microchipped (in accordance with EU regs (i.e. 15 character codes and not 13 as in older microchips). we wish to bring them over permenantly. They will not be passing back and forth.

We were informed that if we contact the French Ministry of agriculture and Fisheries in France (MAPAAR)and request permission to bring them all over that should suffice and permission should be forthcomming.

Having sent 2 x faxes (1 in english & 1 in French)over 4 weeks ago we have heard nothing. We tried to contact the French Embassy in London (answer machine) and again nothing.

Who on earth do we contact when no one will respond?. Is there a telephone number we can phone to speak with someone to obtain permission?

To add to this we are also looking at bringing over 3 heavy horses and 9 Llamas which are part of a breeding business so we have well over 3 animals.

Please help as if permission is not forthcomming then our dreams of moving to France will be off for good.

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LAST EDITED ON 02-Aug-04 AT 10:50 PM (BST)

Hello;

I would almost bet that when you 'come over' no one on the French side will bat an eye! They may ask you if you are travelling with pets - on the British side, and that will be it.

From memory, I believe the British side checked the cats microchips.

J, who came with two cats, and goldfish
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We brought over our puppy 4 years ago and asked at our vet in England what we should do to export the dog. He gave us the appropriate forms from the English Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAAF - I don't know if it is still called this). We filled them in and sent them off and they came back stamped with the authority to export the dog. As far as I remember the vet had to complete something the day before we left to say that the dog was in a fit state to travel.

We arrived at Dover and as we handed over our passports, we said we were taking a dog to France and were ready to hand over all the paperwork. The officer was not interested in the dog or the papers at all and at the French end, there was no control, so we just drove straight through. It was much easier than we had expected, but it was only a dog.

I suggest you contact MAAF in England and ask them what to do.

Jenny
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  • 4 weeks later...
Hi all,

We are in the process of selling up our home in Hampshire ready to move to France (haven't quite picked a department yet, lol). We have four cats and have scoured the net for info and found the following.

If you wish to take your pets abroad (temporarily or permanently) you need a pet passport. DEFRA (the UK government body) will give you more information on the process required. Basically you need your pets to be microchipped and fully vaccinated against rabies in order to get their passports. This needs to be done by a government approved vet in the UK. Once chipped and jabbed you are free to take your pets abroad.

Note however, if you wish to return to the UK with your pets, you will need to leave them in quarantine (not sure how long) to verify they are rabies free. You can get over this by waiting a month after jabs in the UK and having a blood test to verify rabies antibodies. Once done you are free to pop back and forth at your leisure.

The 3 pet per household limit is being removed as of the end of September 2004 according to DEFRA.
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We moved to France (Dept 49)in July this year, bringing 3 heavy horses, 3 ponies, 2 donkeys, 34 chickens/ducks/geese, 2 budgies and 2 dogs.

DEFRA informed us that the "3 Pet Rule" applies only to cats and dogs which are being exported under the Pet Passport Scheme, ie. those which at some point may wish to make a return trip to the UK. They gave me to understand that if you are simply "exporting" your dogs and cats by means of an Export Licence, it does not matter how many you take. I would ring your local Animal Health Office and make an appointment to speak to the Divisional Officer to clarify exactly where you stand. Don't believe all the stories you hear about not being stopped at the ports/eurotunnel. We have been stopped and searched every time that we have travelled with animals - probably just unlucky but it's not worth the risk!

Your lamas and horses will class as livestock and will need the appropriate export certificates, but they will definitely not count under the "3 Pet Rule".

Don't let the red-tape put you off moving - it's definitely worth all the hassle.
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I will be bringing 2 cats from Japan and I dog from UK.  the information I have obtained from defra is that the rabies shots have to be given by a registered vet, the blood serum taken 30 days later and sent to a laboratory in UK .  (I used BioBest and they responded very quickly - I hope this isn't considered advertising but I managed to get all the forms needed off their website!)  After the report comes back confirming an over 0.5 something or other reading you have to wait 6 months before entering Europe/UK.

I know this  isn' t relevant for those of you in UK but possibly if you will be returning to UK with your dog or cat that 6 months wait may be a consideration.

Coral

 

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  • 2 months later...
I am just passing on what I read elsewhere (and it was disputed thereby different people) so I am probably guilty of Chinese whispers.

Some people have said that you may need the permission of your Maire to keep more than 3 dogs. Rather than my paraphrase, check: http://normandy.angloinfo.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_ID=527&forum_ID=26&cat_ID=2&topic_Title=Moving+to+France+with+Pets

Regards

Ian
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