Pet Travel Scheme celebrates 10th birthday

Tuesday, 2 March 2010 18:00

It has been ten years since owners could not travel with their pet dogs, cats or other furry friends without putting them in quarantine.

The Pet Travel Scheme celebrates its tenth anniversary today (March 2nd) and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said some 660,000 journeys have been made by animals to and from the UK during this decade.

In addition, not one case of rabies has been linked with the scheme since its inception, proving its effectiveness with helping to manage disease.

Animal welfare minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: "The Pet Travel Scheme was set up to enable British animal owners to enjoy travelling with their pets when they need to."

The first pet passport was used by a pug called Frodo Baggins - named after the Lord of the Rings character.

Defra statistics show about six in ten pets using the scheme belong to owners in the UK, with another 20 per cent from Europe.

Animal Friends are a specialist pet insurance company providing dog insurance and cat insurance to British pet owners since 1999 and we now offer horse insurance too.

Posted by Mike