PETS: Dogs and cats and ferrets
Have your pet treated against ticks and tapeworms
Not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before you check-in with an approved transport company for the journey that brings your dog, cat or ferret into the UK, your pet must be treated against ticks and tapeworms and the treatment recorded in sections VI & VII of the EU pet passport or the third country official veterinary certificate.
Any vet qualified to practice in a listed country can carry out and record the treatment or issue an official certificate. You must not administer the treatment yourself. The vet will charge you for this service. The treatment must be carried out every time your pet enters the UK.
When you arrive at the check-in point, if less than 24 hours has passed since the treatment, you will have to wait until the full 24 hours have passed before you can check in with your pet. If the treatment was done more than 48 hours before you check in, you will have to have your pet treated again, have the treatment recorded in the relevant document or get another official certificate, and wait at least 24 hours before checking in.
Pets being taken abroad from the UK on day trips will need to have the treatment carried out in the UK not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before they are checked in for the return journey.
Make sure that the vet checks your pet's microchip number before giving the treatment.
Treatment
Your pet must be treated against the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis using a veterinary medicine whose active ingredient is praziquantel.
The tick treatment must be licensed for use against ticks and have a marketing authorisation in the country of use - Please note some treatments may not be applicable to both cats and dogs (or ferrets) and this should be checked with your vet. A collar impregnated with acaricide is not an acceptable form of treatment against ticks.
Recording treatment on a EU pet passport or third country official veterinary certificate
It is your responsibility to make sure your pet’s treatment has been recorded correctly in the appropriate section of your pet’s passport or third country certificate.
Animals will fail the PETS check if the tick and tapeworm sections of their documentation are not in order. Do make sure that these details are fully and correctly recorded on the documentation before you leave the vet's surgery:
For the EU pet passport
Sections VI & VII must show:
- Manufacturer and name of product
- Date & time of treatment (using the 24 hour clock)
- Stamp & signature of veterinarian
For the third country official veterinary certificate
Sections VI & VII must show:
- Manufacturer and name of product
- Date & time of treatment (using the 24 hour clock)
- Name and address of veterinarian
- Signature, date and stamp of veterinarian
Pets travelling with a passport or a third country official veterinary certificate do not require the following certificate
Finding a vet to treat your pet
Look in the local Yellow Pages or contact the local British Consulate in the country concerned. In some cases, the transport companies carrying your pet under the Pet Travel Scheme may be able to help you. To make it easier and quicker to find a vet in France, we have provided a link to the French Yellow Pages.
You can search for vets by town or city
In the box entitled ‘Quoi, Qui’ type Veterinaire
In the box entitled ‘Où’ type the required Town
Then click on the button ‘trouver’
A list of vets will appear.
You can usually view a location map and sometimes a photo of the premises by clicking on the appropriate buttons. If you want to do a new search, scroll to the foot of the page and amend the search details, then click on the trouver button.
Why pets have to be treated
The tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis can cause a serious or fatal liver disease in humans. The tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus can carry diseases that are harmful to humans. Neither of these parasites is thought to be currently present in the UK. The treatment needs to be given not less than 24 hours and not more than 48 hours before the pet is checked in to travel to the UK to ensure that the tapeworm eggs are not shed in the UK.
Human diseases caused by the ticks and tapeworm In humans, the fox tapeworm, Echinococcus multilocularis, can cause a serious and often fatal disease called alveolar echinococcosis. This produces effects similar to liver cancer. Symptoms include abdominal pain, jaundice, fever and anaemia and tapeworm cysts may develop in the liver. Treatment may involve surgery or lifelong chemotherapy. Without treatment the disease is usually fatal. This tapeworm is not found in the UK, but is present in France, Germany, and other parts of continental Europe.
The tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus can carry a range of diseases including Boutonneuse Fever (also known as Mediterranean Spotted Fever). Although this disease can usually be treated with antibiotics, up to 2.5% of cases are fatal. Dogs are the main host for the tick that carries and transmits this disease. The fever and the tick are absent from the UK but are widespread throughout the Mediterranean including Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece.
Page last modified: September 10, 2008