Pet Passport between Qatar and the UK/Europe
I have been looking into how to get Qatar included in the Pet Passport scheme, the same as the UAE is. The relevent article is Article 10 of European Commission Regulation 998/2003.
I have attached a copy of this article to this post and a summary of the conditions of membership below.
Is there anyone out there in the right Government department or vets etc, that can help me with this application?
Article 10
The list of third countries provided for in part C of Annex II shall be
drawn up before the date provided for in the second paragraph of Article
25 and in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 24(2). To
be included on that list, a third country must first demonstrate its status
with regard to rabies and that:
(a) notification to the authorities of the suspicion of rabies is obligatory;
(b) an efficient monitoring system has been in place for at least two
years;
(c) the structure and organisation of its veterinary services are sufficient
to guarantee the validity of the certificates;
(d) all the regulatory measures for the prevention and control of rabies
have been implemented, including the rules on imports;
(e) regulations are in force on the marketing of anti-rabies vaccines (list
of authorised vaccines and laboratories)
The quote I actually recieved in writing from the cattery/kennels was £3129.84. Add to this the paperwork and cost of flying the cats from Qatar to the UK etc, it comes to just over £4,000.
The cattery dosnt look that good either, and the web site is poor, but I am not given much choice. DEFRA in the UK only allow certain catteries/kennels to do the quarantine and the nearest one to Manchester is in Preston :(
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
They are! They even came to us to see if there was anything else that could be done.
At the end of the day the application has to be made by Qatar and only when they are sure they will get the approval. It's no good sending the application in if their policies and procedures are not up to scratch as they will be rejected. If they are refused then I doubt they'd ever try again.
We have done EVEYRTHING humanly possible to push this, all we can do now is keep badgering them until it is submitted.
Shazbat - I was suprised your quote was over £4,000! Normally 2 cats (sharing) works out at about £2,000 for most quarantine kennels!!! It must have been the Ritz Carlton of quarantine :D
www.qaws.org
Perhaps no-one's asked them too.
I always thought that the main reason why any Embassy existed, such as the British Embassy, was to promote relationships between the UK and Qatar and support British people's interests in Qatar.
Why are the British Emabassy not pushing for the Pet Passport scheme in Qatar? I am sure they have 'contacts' at the Animal Resource Department?!
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
Compulsary quarantines from Qatar:
UK - 6 months
Australia - Minimum 1 month, maximum 6 months depending on date of rabies titre test
New Zealand - Minimum 1 month, maximum 6 months depending on date of rabies titre test
Sweden - 4 months quarantine and then 2 months home quarantine
South Africa - 2 weeks (dogs only)
China - 7-30 days
Malaysia - 7-30 days
Japan - 12 hours (why bother?!)
There are probably others but these are the countries most frequently relocated to from Qatar that have quarantine.
www.qaws.org
Just out of curiosity, is the UK the only country that insists on 6 months quarantine?
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
It's not just the rabies shot either, you have to get a blood serum certificate which just cost me QAR 2,400 for 2 cats!
We are planning on spending 6 months in Spain for the same reason as tallg, so as not to have to put our cats in quarantine hell (and also pay out over £4,000)!
If it was any other country, I would have suggested we all go and visit Prof. Yusury at the Animal Resource Department together :(
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
You'd think, but so far no luck. Hence we're off to France for 6 months before we re-enter the UK.
It might be worth getting a rabies shot here anyway, IF by some miracle they get signed up AND allow you to backdate the test (that's a big IF and big AND though).
The hope was that Qatar would join up before my dog's rabies shot expired, but clearly this won't happen. Bummer. Major bummer.
Surely there is someone with a strong enough gov't connection to push it through?
I don't think it's money holding it back. Lack of motivation by the relevant government agency to do anything about it seems to be the problem. As Chelsea said above, QAWS completed all the paper work for them and they still didn't submit it.
I don't think it matters where or when the rabies shot was given, once the pet has set foot in Qatar it will have to endure 6 months quarantine if it wants to enter the UK.
By the way, if it is a matter of money that is holding it up please let me know. Perhaps we can put together a fundraiser. . .
Is there an update on this at all?
Our rabies shot was given in a Pet Passport approved country and will expire next month. (He has already been titered and has taken the annual shot for the past four years in the U.S.) The thought of either starting the process over or having our dog in quarantine in the UK is not one that I like to think about.
Anyone know the status?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6787955.ece
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
I cant bare the thought of my cats being in 'solitary confinement' (quarantine) for 6 months in the UK :(
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
How disappointing, Shazbat :o(
I had been told that Qatar had applied to be part of the pet scheme, but it sounds like it is not true after all.
We completed all of the required Pet Scheme stuff in the U.S. and even got an extra rabies shot the day before we left, but if we get transferred to the UK then it will be a completely worthless exercise :o( Major bummer :(
The phones are rarely answered and when they are it's never by anyone who speaks english! The best thing to do is go in to see him. His office is on the second floor of the Animal Resource Department.
www.qaws.org
I've been trying to locate an email or phone number for Prof. Yusury, but I am strugging. Does anyone have one?
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
Prof. Yusury at the Animal Resource Department!!
He is the only person with the application other then a copy held by QPR and he is the only one that can submit the application.
www.qaws.org
Just recieved the email below from a colleague at the European Commission, who deals with the applications. It looks as if the application from Qatar was never sent to them!
Any ideas? Does anyone have a copy of the application and paperwork?
from [email protected]
sender timeSent at 10:52 (GMT+02:00).
Current time there: 11:27. ✆
date24 June 2009 10:52
subject RE: Pet Passport
mailed-byec.europa.eu
Dear Sharon,
As far as I know I never received any application from the competent authorities of Qatar to be listed in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 998/2003.
I was contacted in October 2006 to get information on how to list Qatar but I can say from whom it came from. I have also in my records emails from 2004 requesting the same information.
The application must come from the competent authorities of Qatar. It is therefore important to convince them to produce such document in accordance with Article 10 of the Regulation (enclosed).
I can help them if they need more explanations.
Best regards.
Hélène KLEIN
European Commission
DG SANCO D1
Froissart 101, 3/66
1049 BRUSSELS
Tel. +32 2 298 09 74
Fax: +32 2 295 31 44
email: [email protected]
website: http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/index_en.htm
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
The 6 months quarantine is only for the UK. Australia and NZ have quarantine but I'm fairly certain you can do up to 5 months quarantine "at home" in Qatar if you have the blood test done far enough in advance. A couple of other countries have quarantine but for no more then 30 days.
www.qaws.org
If Qatar was in the Pet Passport Scheme, it would make things so much easier. Especially for those of us who have adopted animals here :o) I see that America, Australia and NZ are part of it too...
I never intended to have a cat, but 2 weeks ago we adopted one. He is part of the family, and will be going where we go, no matter what it takes.
Its just a shame that as it stands, all pets coming from qatar will be subject to quarantine :o(
When I spoke to DEFRA last year asking for information about exporting out cat, they told me that the application had been made but that they had no idea how long it would take to process. I can't vouch for the reliability of the information though.
As I said, it was given to Prof. Yusury at the Animal Resource Department and we are chasing it up weekly. QCC are also involved in trying to push it forward but we can't force them into anything.
There have been numerous newspaper articles over the years about the pet passport scheme and how it would make it easier for people to relocate their animals and would help the QAWS shelter as less animals would be abandoned.
Unfortunately no-one other then the municipality can submit the application and if the EU hasn't recieved it yet then it's still sat on a desk somewhere in Qatar.
Please remember that having the pet passport scheme is more then just skipping quarantine in the UK. It would also mean that all animals coming into Qatar would need to follow all the regulations, be the right age, have the right paperwork, and until they can get that under control they will not get the Pet Passport Scheme.
www.qaws.org
Chelsea, can you let me have the contact name and department details of when/who/where the application was sent to, so I can chase it up? Or get QAWS/QPR to chase it up?
I have been in contact with the UK Government and European Commission and I dont think they have ever recieved the application!
Maybe we need a few news articles too, to shame the Qatar department into doing something?
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"Every adult of sound mind, should be able to choose to do whatever they want, as long as they cause no harm to others".
The more people that go down to the Animal Resource Department on Airport Road the better! The application was given to Prof. Yusury on the 2nd floor and he is the one who is supposed to be dealing with all the animal matters in Qatar. He's a nice guy but I think he has a bit too much on his plate - his pile of things to do is about 4ft high!
Anyone who wants to help should go and try to see him and explain how important this scheme would be. We go in regularly to see him but the more people who can put pressure on the better!
www.qaws.org
Is there any way we can put pressure on to speed up the process?
QAWS and Qatar Pet Relocators have already completed the application and gave it to the municipalities over 2 years ago...
It's a very long process that involves a lot of information including all the native species of animals in Qatar and took QAWS And QPR over a year to complete.
All we can do now is wait and see what happens.
www.qaws.org
Try Doha Vets..at www.dohavets.com. Very good reliable service..
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HE WHO DARES WINS