January 2005
Then….
When we first wrote this article in 2000 - and when we tried to update it in February 2002 - the whole issue of importing rabbits to the UK was somewhat controversial.
"Commercial" rabbits (which included show rabbits, but excluded pets) were allowed to travel into the UK from other EU countries without quarantine or rabies vaccination under the Balloi Directive, although paperwork and licensing requirements were stringent. There was, however, talk of extending the successful "Pet Travel Scheme" (PETS) to include rabbits - but no sign of any action.
All this was a great frustration for rabbit owners moving to the UK, who wanted to be part of an internationally-mobile workforce, but did not want to put their pet bunny through the stress of quarantine for six months.
… and now
Europe
Finally, in July 2004, there was a breakthrough... at least for European rabbit owners.
EU regulations now allow domestic rabbits to be moved freely within Europe. The definition of Europe includes EU countries plus Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, NoRWAFy, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican.
This is a great boon for rabbit owners relocating within the EU, who can now take their rabbit with them - and bring them back again on returning to the UK. However, please note that we do not support the idea of British rabbit owners taking their rabbits on long hot drives to the south of Europe on holiday!
The rest of the world
Unfortunately, as things stand at present, rabbits entering the UK from outside Europe still have to go into quarantine for six months. This is despite the fact that dogs and cats from many countries (including the USA) may now enter the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme without going into quarantine.
The RWAF receives a steady trickle of queries from rabbit owners in the USA and Canada who have heard of dogs and cats travelling to the UK without going into six months quarantine, and are under the impression that quarantine has been abandoned entirely. Sadly, for rabbits this is not true.
Where can I find further information?
We cannot stress strongly enough that any rabbit owner contemplating moving a rabbit into or out of the UK must obtain the very latest information from DEFRA, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - formerly known as MAFF. Your own vet may also be able to help you.
Pet Travel Scheme Helpline Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Area 201
1a Page Street
London
SW1P 4PQ
Telephone: +44 (0)870 2411710 (Monday to Friday - 8.30am to 5pm UK time)
Fax: +44 (0)20 7904 6206
Email: pets.helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk (please enclose your postal address and a day time telephone number)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/PETS/rabbits.htm http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/PETS/Regulation/eu_reg.htm http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/factsheet/factsheet.htm
Please do not contact the RWAF asking for advice on the details of importing/exporting rabbits to the UK, as we will not be able to assist you.
Is the RWAF doing anything about importing rabbits from outside the EU?
The RWAF has been keeping an eye on the regulations surrounding the importation of rabbits to the UK for several years, trying to determine if anything can be done to support the argument for pet rabbits from outside Europe to be allowed to enter the UK without quarantine.
Rabbits pose minimal threat of importing rabies into the UK and it seems an anomaly to allow one set of rabbits in with minimal checks whilst other, equally low-risk, rabbits have to go into quarantine. Hence, in principal, the RWAF has supported the concept of allowing the importation of rabbits without quarantine for rabbit owners moving to the UK either permanently or for a prolonged period of time (not just for holidays).
However, dogs and cats are only allowed to bypass rabies quarantine under the auspices of the Pet Travel Scheme. Several years ago, MAFF (the predecessor of DEFRA) talked about including rabbits in the Pet Travel Scheme "sometime in 2001"but this never came to fruition.
From the very outset, the key to the PETS scheme has been the combination of rabies vaccine; micro-chipping; and blood testing to ensure the vaccine has worked. Animals travelling under the PETS scheme also have to be treated for fleas/ticks using a specified product every time they re-enter the UK. Neither the rabies vaccine nor the flea/tick products approved for use under PETS are licensed for use in rabbits, which immediately puts a hurdle in the path of any plans to import rabbits under the auspices of the PETS scheme. We doubt that DEFRA could put foRWAFrd legislation which required drugs to be used on a species for which the products are not licensed, and indeed such as in the case of fipronil, possibly fatal for rabbits.
At the time of writing (November 2004) the DEFRA website seems to imply that the UK is at the mercy of the EU when deciding whether to relax the rules on importing rabbits from outside Europe: "When imported into the UK from any other country, animals must be licensed into quarantine for 6 months. The EU may revise this requirement at a later date." (DEFRA website, rabbit and rodent information page).
The RWAF committee will continue to try and establish whether there are any plans for rabbits from outside Europe to be allowed to enter the UK without quarantine.
However, in the meantime, we would suggest that rabbit lovers write to their MP and MEP and ask what the national and European government is doing about the whole situation; as well as writing to DEFRA to put the case for allowing pet rabbits from outside the EU to be imported with out quarantine.
Revision History
The original version of this article was written in 2000. It was been completely
revised in January 2005
Copyright © Dr Linda Dykes 2005
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