TORTOISE

[anne dept 35]

Does anyone know about any regulations about taking pet tortoises to France on the ferry?

[val douest]

Sorry, Anne, I've no personal knowledge of the rules regarding a

tortoise travelling by ferry, but it might be worth e-mailing the 

animal health  section of DEFRA on

iah-eulp@defra.gsi.gov.uk.  You could of course phone the ferry

company but they may very well refer you to DEFRA anyway.  There's

not likely to be a problem with the presence of the tortoise on the

ferry (unless he's unusually lively!) but they - and you - will

probably want to be sure you have the correct documention in case of

problems on arrival.  I know someone locally brought theirs in a

cardboard box in the back of the car and never mentioned it - to be

fair, they seemed genuinely surprised that anyone thought they should

have done as it wasn't a dog or a cat.  And maybe tortoises can

travel within the EU without restriction but I guess it would be nice

to know one way or the other.  Another organisation which may be

able to help is the Tortoise Trust (www.tortoisetrust.org).

Good luck,

Val