What do you think?

Something I read, which was written by a homeopathic vet in my dog mag made me think. He was talking about dogs bringing diseases into this country from abroad, diseases which are endemic on the continent and are spread by sandflies and other parasites.
2 dogs in Essex had a tick infestation identified by Public Health England, and it was found the species are only normally found on the continent. One of these dogs had been imported from Spain, perfectly legally, under the Pets scheme, and had been treated for ticks before the trip - obviously unsuccessfully.
The Pets scheme is designed to keep rabies and a particular tapeworm out of the UK, both of which are transmissible to humans. There is also a veritable flood of puppies being imported from Romania that look far too young to have really had their rabies vac.and waited the requisite time afterwards before travelling.
This vet believes we are at real risk of an outbreak of rabies in the UK as well as other diseases.

I agree with him entirely that is wrong that dogs are allowed to jet from one country to another just to line up at 'prestigious' dog shows. For example,Crufts should go back to being a show for UK canine residents only. Why do people put their dogs through stressful travelling that isn't necessary?

We need to go back to quarantine rules, but only a short stay, not like the 6 months it used to be. It would at least reduce the risk of rabies massively, and would also pick up any ticks that arrive with the dogs. It would also stop people bringing dogs into the UK simply to make money, attend shows, or just for the odd holiday. None of these are good enough reason to risk our health and that of our dogs.

A last quickie ~ did you know that vets in the USA and on the continent have always been called 'Doctor'?
Now, so many vets from the EU are living and working in the UK, in some veterinary practices clients have been finding some of their vets are called doctor and some or not, which has been confusing clients.
So the rule book was changed last March, and UK vets can now also use the title 'doctor'!
Well, well, well . .

Re: What do you think?

Johnny Depp facing 10 years in jail for illegally bringing dogs to Australia

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/pe...-10275330.html

His dogs might be put down too ...

They take this kind of thing VERY seriously in Aussie land.

Re: What do you think?

Having travelled in Europe with my dogs I dont think the scheme is at fault perse in my expierence its the officers at customs.

The dogs need rabies vaccs, flea and tick treatments and a worm cure to travel but Ive seen how my dogs are checked only for their chip and I watched the customs officers go down the line checking cars with pets but only those who had a pet on board hanger in the window and in most case only scanned the dogs for the chip.. Ive only seen one person be asked to take the dog out of the car and thats because he was in a crate that the officer couldnt reach into..

Because of this lax behaviour its no wonder that animals are slipping in and unhealthy animals are being passed.

If all animals were properly checked at ports there might be a bit more sense in having the travel scheme, at the moment its just a bit of paper.

Re: What do you think?

I have been howled down so often since we started allowing dogs to travel I have become wary of venturing an opinion. I think the same now as I did then - it's a bad idea and we have enough dogs in this country without importing more, and if we cannot find somewhere in Uk to holiday with our dogs then stay home with them or pay to have them cared for while you are gone.

Re: What do you think?

I am afraid it is only a matter of time before we see all kinds of new to the UK disease being imported and also rabies .
We already have the mysterious Alabama Rot and have no idea where that came from.

I too would like to see a return to the quarantine rules but with a shorter period of confinement.

Re: What do you think?

CASS. I agree with what you're saying, but there is even more to it than that. Many unscrupulous people are involved, including the vets themselves, in sending masses of pups on their journey with forged papers. I've said this before. They KNOW that many of vets are earning huge amounts of money by forging paperwork, saying treatments have been done that haven't, so the problem starts before the chip scanning bit. People know this is going on, but nothing is being done about it. Consequently, the dogs themselves are hugely at risk and so are we all.

MEG. Yes, I agree with you, too. This Alabama Rot is getting worse each year and they still haven't found the answer to it. They know what it does to the body and how long it takes to die etc, but they don't seem to have any idea of where it has come from or even more frightening - how to stop it.

JULIE. What I object to the most about people carting their dogs around the globe, is the cruel ones who only do it for glory - the Trophy Hunters I call them. The ones who do it for the prestigious dog show world.
Many people say they get 'jet lag' when they've flown far, yet who's to know the dog doesn't get jet lag too? Yet they are carted around from show to show, spending many hours at a time boxed or crated, then are expected to look perfect and perform perfect in front of a load of complete strangers. It is prestige for owners only, the poor dog would probably be much happier at home with a juice bone in the garden.

A short blast in quarantine would stop a lot of these people.

What about our vets being able to call themselves doctors then? That surprised me. To my mind, they are more qualified than GP's anyway, because they are surgeons and dentists as well!

Re: What do you think?

Then wouldnt proper controls at the ports help weed out unscrupulous vets too?

I wouldnt mind turning up an hour earlier for a vet check if thats what was required..

We dont all just cart dogs around for fun some of us have dogs that cant be kenneled and families abroad we want to visit for longer than a couple of days.
I would no sooner leave my dogs with a stranger than I would my children..

Re: What do you think?

With great respect Cass, I would then have to ask whether you are prepared to put the health and well-being of millions of dogs and native wildlife at risk in another country ?

Effective controls entail more than just an extra hour at an airport.
Quarantine for weeks, sometimes months, is the only way to be sure.

Re: What do you think?

With all due respect Id expect nothing more from Aus..

Rabies control and vaccines are effective... If we are going to be this xenophobic and terrified of anything that moves we might as well all live in a bubble.

Re: What do you think?

And I thank you for that !

In the past we have made the mistake of not adequately protecting our borders from animal-spread disasters - and have suffered accordingly.
To the extent of the extinction of some species.

There is nothing paranoid or xenophobic about seeking to conserve what we have by asking visitors to comply with a few reasonable rules.
We have remained free from foot-and mouth, mad-cow and a whole heap of other bio-nasties.

And I would not have it otherwise just because some visitor cannot stand to leave their pooch at home or take the safeguards which we require.

A true animal-lover would surely understand.