1 July 2002

The Council of Ministers has approved the new scheme which goes now to translation, then to the EU Parliament for ratification. Once approved, it then gets published in the EU Journal and becomes effective 12 months later. Autumn 2003 looks like the time of implementation.

Under this scheme, most pets can no longer travel to Europe freely (with only a vaccination certificate).

The scheme will stipulate three categories (out term not theirs!) of country.

CAT A EU Member States plus some others = Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Liechenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland , the Vatican, UK and Ireland.

CAT B Rabies Free countries and countries where rabies is " sufficiently under control". List not yet determined but likely to include Australia, Ascension Island, Barbados, Bahrain, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Falklands Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guadaloupe, Hawaii, Jamaica, Japan, Malta, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Monserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Reunion, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent, Singapore, Vanuatu, Wallis and Fortuna and NORTH AMERICA.

CAT C Countries in which rabies is endemic. List not yet determined.

For entry to a Member State – CAT A (except UK, Republic of Ireland and Sweden who have been given permission to retain their existing conditions for 5 years) all pets must have been identified by microchip OR tattoo and then (re)-vaccinated against rabies. Those coming from CAT A or CAT B countries require no further treatment. Those coming from CAT C must then, at least 30 days after the vaccination be bloodtested 3 months before entering Europe.

For entry to UK and Ireland , all pets must be microchipped (tattoo not acceptable), then (re)-vaccinated by a vet in one of the approved countries and then blood tested by a vet in one of the approved countries 6 months before entry to UK.

I.E. Pets from CAT A and B may be vaccinated and blood sampled in situ but their samples must be sent to an approved laboratory.

Pets from CAT C must be vaccinated and sampled (again) having arrived in an approved country. Thus these pets must be vaccinated in their rabies endemic country 3 months before arrival in Europe and must then repeat the vaccination and blood test on arrival and 6 months before travelling to UK/RoI. Pets arriving direct in UK from a CAT C country will face 6 months quarantine. This seems illogical and may change over time.

The EU Press Release announcing this may be seen at:

The History and papers behind the EU Scheme may be seen at: