Pets on board: sailing with your furry friends
Who wouldn’t want to take their favourite furry friend on their nautical travels? It can be done, just make sure you comply with the rules and regulations and are fully prepped to take pets on board before you leave
Boating with pets on board can be a truly fantastic experience. Who wouldn’t want to take their favourite furry friend on their nautical travels? It can be done, just make sure you comply with the rules and regulations and are fully prepped before you leave.
Documentation
Before you set sail, there are strict rules with which you must comply in order to keep your pet firmly on deck.
When travelling with animals you are obliged to meet the requirements from the country you’re going to and leaving from.
If regulations are not met, your pet will be put into quarantine, or sent back to the country you’ve just left – the costs of which you will be obliged to pay.
In order to enter or return to the UK from the EU or a non-EU listed country your pet must comply with the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS), and will therefore need:
- A microchip
- A rabies vaccination (you must wait 21 days from the date of the vaccination before travelling)
- A pet passport or third country official veterinary certificate
- A tapeworm treatment (only for dogs)
When entering the UK from any country not included in the list of EU and non-EU countries your pet needs:
- A microchip
- A rabies vaccination
- A blood test (the vet must take the sample at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination, and the vet must give you a copy of the test results, showing that the vaccination was successful)
- You must wait three calendar months from the date of the blood test before travelling. However, you needn’t wait three months if your pet was vaccinated, blood tested and given a pet passport in the EU before travelling to an unlisted country
- A third country official veterinary certificate
- A tapeworm treatment (only for dogs)
For more information go to the Gov.uk website.
Entering the UK with a pet onboard
While you are allowed to take a pet abroad on a private boat, you are not allowed to re-enter the UK with a pet on a private boat. When coming home your pet must travel with an approved carrier on an authorised route i.e. a ferry.
Pet travel between the UK and Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands is allowed, and does not require documentation, although PETS recommends travelling with the pet passport and also keeping a ship’s log, noting which ports you have entered to avoid problems on re-entry to the UK.
Tips
- A lifejacket for dogs is very useful. Most come with a handle to help you pull your pet out of the water if he goes in the drink
- A litter tray for cats, or a dog toilet for longer trips at sea. Newspaper makes a fine temporary toilet, however, specially designed patches of synthetic grass with an absorbent layer beneath are now available. Make sure to secure the litter tray to the deck to stop it from sliding around
- Be sure to close hatches to the engine room and other small nooks you don’t want a pet to explore
- With a dog, plenty of trips ashore are needed for toilet trips and walks. It’s probably worth checking which marinas welcome dogs before you get there to be safe
- Familiarising your pet with the boat before you set sail is a good idea, so they are not scared or confused when you get going
- Be sure to make the tender floor claw-proof to avoid punctures
- For heavy dogs, harnesses or winch systems are available
- Pack plenty of bedding – a soggy salty bed will smell after a few days so spares will be handy
- Plenty of all the usuals such as food and water bowls, poo bags, food and grooming equipment
- A doggie lifejacket
- Plenty of towels for absorbing the post-swim seawater
- Collar and lead, with waterproof ID tag
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