Rabies warning as Europe loosens pet passport rules

UK rabies warning as Europe Commission looks to loosen pet passport rules

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Friday, 19, Mar 2010 12:08

By Sarah Garrod.

Vets have today warned that moves by the European Commission to loosen controls on pet passports could see the return of rabies to the UK.

Specialists writing in the Veterinary Record said that the commission hopes to harmonise the regulations for all pets travelling between EU member states and abandon additional controls for rabies, ticks, and tapeworms on the grounds that "these diseases are now rare and pose little threat".

But the authors say this goes against the advice of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which specifies that dogs and cats from countries wishing to avoid quarantine should be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies, and tested a maximum of 24 month and a minimum of three months before shipment to confirm they are not at risk of passing on infection.

The UK currently enjoys a rabies-free zone, and the authors are concerned this could be lost if the European Commission has its way.

They point to France and Germany, which are also supposedly free of rabies, yet carry out substantial numbers of tests for the disease and provide a good deal of preventive treatment for people and pets every year.

The authors write that while the pet passport scheme has worked well and there have been no cases of rabies, "a significant proportion of animals fail the rabies serology test and are prevented from travelling".

"Leaving aside the possible issues of under reporting, there are still recorded cases of rabies in many eastern European states and northern Italy," they say.

Several organisations in the UK, including the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), have strongly opposed the EU plans.

The authors of today's report conclude: "At present rabies is not a significant differential diagnosis in neurological disease of UK cats and dogs, but this will not be the case in future if current controls are lost."