Animal Health Certificates & Export Health Certificates

Part of our services offered include getting your pet to a foreign country – whether you are planning a lovely holiday, or wish to emigrate.  We are also able to certify commercial transactions for movements of birds, such as falcons moving to a new owner in another country.

Animal Health Certificates

In the case of taking a holiday with your dog, cat, or ferret, you will require an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) for travel to the European Union and Northern Ireland.  Some pets with passports issued in another country may still be able to travel on these, but British pet passports are invalid. Please see our page ‘Travel to Europe and Northern Ireland’ for more information on what is required, and what to expect.

In general, your pet must be up-to-date with is routine vaccinations, have a current rabies vaccine, have a microchip, and must be healthy. Unhealthy pets may or may not be suitable for travel in accordance with UK welfare regulations, depending on the nature of their condition. This decision is made by the Official Veterinarian (OV), is irrefutable, and is final.

Your pet must have a full health check with the vet, have its microchip scanned, and may need to have a tapeworm product administered prior to travel to certain countries. Please bring your pet’s vaccination record card with you to the appointment, so that it can be copied and certified as part of the AHC. An AHC may be issued up to 10 days before the planned travel date, up to the travel date. However, we allow 48 hours for processing of the paperwork, so please leave at least 48 hours between your appointment and departure. Don’t forget to factor in time to collect the AHC from the clinic!

Export Health Certificates

To travel with any companion or exotic animal species (excluding dogs, cats and ferrets) within the EU, and to travel with any species to countries outside the EU, you will require an Export Health Certificate (EHC).  Please see ‘Exporting Your Pet and Travel Outside of the EU’ for further information and requirements for this process.

In general, your pet must be healthy, must have been resident in the UK for at least 3 months prior to your planned travel date, and must not show any signs of infectious or contagious disease. If your pet develops signs of contagious or infectious disease during the lead-up to travel – up to and including your travel date – it is unlikely that they will be able to travel. This decision is made by the Official Veterinarian (OV), is irrefutable, and is final.

Please note that EHCs may require testing, isolation and proof of application of parasite products. This may be for several months before you travel, so enquiries should be made early to both the importing authorities of the destination country, and to the APHA (our exporting authority in GB).

Contact details for the APHA can be found here.

Commercial Exports

Any pet who will be going to live with a new owner or that will be purchased – whether for money or as part of an exchange – is classed as undergoing a commercial export. These pets will require an EHC, as above, but only certain Ovs may export certain species.

We are licensed to export avian species for commercial purposes, so are able to assist with exports of birds of prey as well as pet parrots. We are also legally able to assist with poultry, if required.  However, we recommend using a poultry veterinary clinic if possible, because of stipulations regarding how may ‘days clean’ from other avian species a vet must be when making a visit to a poultry site for export purposes. This is difficult for us to achieve, because we frequently see pet parrots for routine consultations.