Moving to Scotland with a pet
If you are planning to move to Scotland and have a pet (or pets), it is understandably a stressful process to figure out whether you can bring them with you or not, and how. Scotland is a rabies-free country, which means you need to follow the below rules and regulations carefully, or risk having your pet quarantined or even denied entry to the country.
Bringing your pet to Scotland
In general, your pet (dog, cat or ferret) can enter Scotland if they have been microchipped, have a pet passport (or an official veterinary certificate for third-country citizens) and have been vaccinated against rabies. Dogs will also need to go through a tapeworm treatment. If you fail to comply to these rules, your pet may be quarantined for up to four months or, if you're travelling by sea, even denied entry.
Good to know:
Apart from EU countries, Scotland also accepts pet passports from several other countries. See the full list here.
The identification microchip your pet is fitted with, needs to comply with ISO 11784 norms. This microchip is not encrypted and consists of 15 numbers. In case your pet is fitted with another microchip, you are required to bring its own scanner.
Regardless where you're coming from, since Scotland is a rabies-free country your pet has to be vaccinated against rabies after being fitted with the microchip. The waiting period after the vaccination varies though. EU/EFTA citizens and listed countries can enter Scotland with their pets 21 days after the pets were vaccinated, whereas pets from unlisted countries must take a blood sample one month after the vaccination and then wait for 3 months before entering Scotland. Find more information on the process, here.
Dogs coming from non-EU/EFTA countries, must also receive treatment against tapeworms before traveling to Scotland. This has to be carried out at the least one day prior to travelling, and at the most five days prior.
Good to know:
You are not allowed to travel with more than five pets, unless you have written evidence that you are attending a competition or show. Even then, all your animals should meet the pet travel rules, be at least 6 months old ' and you'll have to fill in a declaration.
Find more information about travelling with more than 5 pets here.
Dog breeds not allowed in Scotland
Surprisingly, certain dog breeds are not allowed in Scotland ' or anywhere in the UK for that matter. This has to do with public safety, and with the fact that certain dogs are considered, or look aggressive and dangerous. So if your dog is a Pitbull Terrier, a Japanese Tosa, a Dogo Argentino or a Fila Brasileiro, you can't bring it to Scotland. Bear in mind that even if that's not your dog's exact breed but it looks like it could belong to the breeds mentioned, you can still be denied entrance to the country. Find more information on banned dogs here.
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