Rise in number of pet passports issued
Over a third of vets in Scotland have seen an increase in demand for pet passports over the past 12 months.
British vets handed out an average 26 dog passports in the last 12 months and an average six cat passports, that was a rise of 38 per cent.
British dog owners face being asked to leave shops, bars and restaurants when abroad with their pet if they don’t have a pet passport to produce.
According to vets, the three most common precautions owners forget when going away are; tape worming treatment, leaving enough time between vaccinations and updating rabies vaccinations when going abroad.
British dogs are increasingly well travelled, with one-in-10 (10 per cent) owners taking their pet abroad, according to new research from Direct Line Pet Insurance.
For many owners (45 per cent), their dog always influences their choice of holiday destination, with just seven per cent of owners saying their pet never influences where they go away.
Pet owners also appear to be enjoying ‘staycations’ with their pets, as 65 per cent claim to have taken their animal on a UK-based ‘petcation’.
Of those that do go abroad with their pet, the most pet friendly destinations dog owners have visited are; the French resorts La Roche and Les Sables, Nantes in Belgium, Antequera, Spain and Lake Lucerne, Switzerland.
However, when holidaying abroad dog owners often face difficulties, as three fifths (60 per cent) have been asked to leave shops on account of their pet, while others have been asked to leave restaurants (46 per cent), bars (31 per cent) and even hotels (26 per cent).
The rules when bringing dogs and cats back into the UK are clear - they must have been microchipped, have a pet passport (or third country official veterinary certificate), have been vaccinated against rabies and dogs must also have a tapeworm treatment when returning from a number of different countries.
Your pet must also arrive in the UK no more than five days before or after the owner and if owners do not comply with these rules, they risk their pets having to be quarantined when re-entering the UK.