Pet Travel Scheme

Passports for Pets, the freedom to take dogs and cats across Europe, was campaigned for by Lady Fretwell and, with a great deal of political influence, Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong.

The Patten family couldn't face the idea of putting their two Norfolk Terriers, Whisky and Soda, into quarantine, so the dogs stayed at the family holiday home in Toulouse until Passports for Pets allowed them into the UK on 28 February 2000.

Passports for Pets initially just allowed travel by dogs and cats between the member States of the EU, subject to microchipping and rabies vaccination.  In December of 2002 this freedom to travel was extended to the United States and Canada.

Quarantine had already been waived to allow US military explosives sniffer dogs to be brought into the UK following 9/11. 

The UK Government was under pressure from the US to allow the Passports for Pets freedom to travel to be extended to North America.  The US Ambassador held a party to celebrate the announcement of the change in the House of Commons.

Passports for Pets has since been extended to include many other countries, and further extended to allow ferrets as well as cats and dogs to cross borders. Rabbits and pet rodents are allowed to travel without restrictions of pets passports.

By May, 2007, around 400,000 dogs, cats and ferrets (less than 100 ferrets!) had travelled to the UK under the Passports for Pets scheme.  Many families routinely include their pets in their holiday plans if going to Europe.