How to organise international pet transport?
Are you looking for pet transport and are wondering, how to organise it? What formalities have to be completed? Where to find a trustworthy transport provider, whom you may trust your beloved people with? To find out – read on!
Naturally, the safest way to transport your pet is to do it yourself. Your dog or cat will feel the most calm with you by their side – and you will be certain that your pet won’t be harmed in any way and that it’s travel conditions are satisfactory. If you plan to transport your pet by yourself, apart from ensuring it’s travelling in good conditions, you have to check what formalities have to be completed before the journey. It’s especially important since some of them have time limits that may affect the dates in which the transport will be possible.
The Brexit left many people unsure of how to organise international pet transport and asking what changed in the formalities needed to transport their pet across the border. Thankfully, if you need to transport a pet to the UK or from the UK to one of the EU countries, requirements haven’t changed much and are very similar. Your pet have to:
- Have a microchip with pet’s own ID number
- Have a pet’s passport with ID number that matches the one on the microchip – the passport can be issued by a veterinarian with proper license
- Be vaccinated against rabies – such vaccination can be administered by a veterinarian with proper license. The pet must be at least 12 months old and have the ID microchip before the vaccination.
- Be given tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis) treatment – between 120-24 hours before the transportation.
Please, remember that this requirements can change with time and new regulation can replace them. Therefore be sure to check the government website when planning your travel: https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad.
Now that you know what formalities have to be completed when you are travelling with your own pet. But what if you cannot transport the pet by yourself and have to rely on a professional transport provider? Then it’s crucial to find someone trustworthy.
Pet transport – and international pet transport in particular – is one of the most delicate fields of shipping. When looking for a transport provider, it’s crucial to find someone not only with proper license and qualifications, but also will be willing to stay in close and direct contact with the pet owner. Unfortunately, when hiring a transport company we rarely can count on such a direct communication – all the details are usually worked out with a middleman and not with the person who will actually be transporting your beloved dog or cat.
When it comes to such delicate cargo, as pets, much safer then hiring a transport company is hiring a transport provider directly. Where to find direct contact with couriers? The easiest and most convenient way is to use a transport marketplace. For example – you can list your transport on Clicktrans, one of the more popular transport marketplaces in Europe. There are over 73,000 transport providers from all over Europe registered in Clicktrans base. That means you’ll be able to find a fitting transport provider for international pet transportation. And most importantly – you’ll be able to stay in touch with the driver through the whole journey.
Of course, when it comes to pet transportation, the price is less important than the safety of your animal and the reliability of the courier – but Clicktrans is also a good way to get a good price for the shipping. Most of Clicktrans transport providers are looking for additional loads for routes that they are going to travel anyway. For them it’s a way of earning some extra money and for you – a chance for an inexpensive transport without losing the great quality of the service.
All you have to do is to list your transport. Fill out a short form, to tell the possible transport provider what transport you need, on which route and when would you like it done. And then? Just wait! Transport providers willing and able to take the job will quote on your listing – and it’s up to you which one you’ll choose. Before making your decision you can ask all the questions you need in the comment section on your listing page. Transport providers are eager to answer all the questions, as it helps to figure out the details of the shipping and as a result makes their jobs easier. After you decide on a courier you’d like to trust your animal with, you’ll be given their contact info (email address, phone number etc.), which will allow you to finalise the transaction and later – to stay in close touch with the transport provider while his on the road with your precious pet.
