Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Pets: Travelling Abroad

Thursday 23 June 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Margaret Greenwood asked about making it easier for people to travel abroad with their pets.
  • The Minister stated that the UK meets all the requirements for part 1 listed status and tapeworm-free status but further engagement is needed.
  • Margaret Greenwood inquired about a constituent with an assistance dog facing high costs for travel to the EU.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Margaret Greenwood Lab
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The question arises from the need for UK pet owners to comply with EU regulations when travelling abroad with their pets.

Question

Whether he is taking steps to make it easier for people to travel abroad with their pets. We are clear that we meet all the requirements to gain both part 1 listed status and recognition of the UK's tapeworm-free status. We see no valid animal health reason for those not to be granted.

Answer from Jo Churchill

We are clear that we meet all the requirements to gain both part 1 listed status and recognition of the UK's tapeworm-free status. We see no valid animal health reason for those not to be granted. We are carrying out further engagement to make progress on this issue.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific steps or timeline for simplifying pet travel regulations were not provided.

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Q2 Margaret Greenwood Lab
Brexit Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The question stems from a constituent, Stephen, who uses an assistance dog and faces financial difficulties when travelling to EU countries due to the need for animal health certificates.

Question

I thank the Minister for her answer and wonder whether she could elaborate. My constituent, Stephen, who is blind and partially deaf, has an assistance dog called Jodie. Steven has told me that he is required to pay £160 for an animal health certificate and vaccines each time he takes Jodie to an EU country. I wrote to DEFRA on Steven's behalf more than a year ago and received a response that basically said that the change has still not happened. Does the Minister recognise the impact of this slow progress on Stephen and other people who rely on assistance dogs? Could she elaborate further on what Stephen might do?

Answer from Jo Churchill

I do recognise the challenge. There is no change for animals coming from the EU to here and there is no reason why that arrangement should not be reciprocal. We are proactively engaging with the assistance dog community and relevant stakeholders and we are continuing the engagement with the EU to make sure that we can overcome this challenge.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific timeline or action plan for reciprocal recognition was not provided.

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