Many familes have pets, so it's only natural that one of the first things they ask about moving to Spain is, "What do we do about our pets?" Most families decide to take them with them, so this post is about the best way to move your pets with you to Spain.
First of all, I must say that I am talking mainly about taking dogs and cats from the UK to Spain. For information on more 'exotic' animals or other countries you really need to research these individually. I will try and make another post later to discuss these.
Taking pets to Spain from the UK - what to do before your move:
The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) allows dogs and cats from the UK to visit certain other countries and return to the UK, without quarantine, provided that certain conditions are met. These conditions are imposed to prevent diseases being spread from one country to another. All airports and ferry services will require that these conditions be met. These are the conditions for taking your pet with you when moving to Spain:
- Dogs and cats must be microchiped. This will be done by your vet. You must tell him or her that you intend to move to Spain with your pet to ensure the correct (scanable) microchip is fitted.
- Your pet must be over 4 months old. This is because it has to have all vaccinations done and tested before your move to Spain.
- In order to take your pet with you when you move to Spain it must be vaccinated against Rabies. This cannot be done until the animal is 3 months old.
- If you want to bring your pet back from Spain to the UK it will have to undergo a blood test 30 days or more after the injection to make sure the rabies vaccination worked. If it fails the test, it will have to be vaccinated and tested again.
- However, unless your pet was vaccinated and tested before the year 2000, it will have to spend at least 6 months in Spain after the 'all clear' blood test before it is allowed to return to the UK.
- Having a pet blood tested in the UK is not cheap. If you intend to move to Spain permanently with your pet, it is well worth considering getting it vaccinated, but waiting until you get to Spain before getting it tested. Vets in Spain are a lot cheaper. You will, however, still need to get the test done, because Spain is very strict about tackling rabies and you will have to keep full health records on your pets when you live there.
- A certificate from the vet saying that your pet has had full tapeworm and tick treatment. This must be done between 24 and 48 hours before your departure. the same applies if you want to bring your pet back from Spain. It will need the same treatment 24 to 48 hours before departure from Spain. There are vets at major airports and ferries in Spain and France to carry out this treatment.
- An Export Health Certificate, saying that your pet is in good health. This is usually given at the same time as the tick and flea treatment. Spain insists that your pet has one before it is allowed to enter the country.
- If you wish to bring your pet back from Spain after 6 months, you will also need a Pets Re-entry Certificate signed by your vet to say that all vaccinations and blood tests have been carried out and confirmed.
- If, after moving to Spain, you decide to go back to the UK with your pet, you will also need a Declaration of Residence which confirms that your pet has not been outside of certain countries for 6 months prior to its return to the UK.
Travel to Spain by Air:
- You may decide that it would be best for your pet to travel by air when you move to Spain. There are a limited number of flights to Spain which carry pets, most of these go from London Heathrow. You will need to check with the airport or your travel agent for further details on flights to Spain.
- Dogs and cats will need to be in a special crate for travel to Spain by air. You can purchase these through the airport itself or from your local vet or pet store. Tell them that the crate is for travel to Spain to ensure it is the correct one.
- You will need to arrive at the airport about 4 hours before the flight to Spain, as all pets have to be placed in a special area ready for boarding in the hold and for extra checks on their health and welfare.
- When you arrive in Spain, expect some delay in retrieving your pet and getting on with your new life, as your pet will have to go through microchip and document checks before officially entering the country.
- Only certain ferry companies will allow you to take pets with you and these insist they are securely crated. At the time of writing, there are no ferries going from the UK directly to Spain which allow pets onboard, so you will need to travel to one of the French ports and then continue your journey into Spain by car (most trains and buses in Spain will not allow you to transport pets so a car or van is usuallythe only option).
- When you drive onto the ferry you can have your pet in the back of the car or van with you. The ticket inspector will check the pet's documents and will scan the animal to ensure that the microchip is in place.
- Once aboard the ferry, your pet must be in a crate in a designated holding area. If your journey is long, then please leave your pet some water and possibly a little food, although it is unlikely he will eat it. Most ferry operators allow you to visit your pet while onboard the ferry, as long as you are accompanied by a member of staff. When we moved to Spain we had a 6 hour journey, but we only visited our pets the once as they had actually settled down quite nicely until we arrived and they thought we were taking them home. So think of this as well.
- When you arrive at your destination you will be asked for your pet's papers. Please keep the pets crated or in a secure area of your car and van while this takes place.
- Once you are out of the ferry area, your dogs can come out of their crate, but you need to be aware of regulations on the transport of pets in Spain by car.
- Cats must be in a crate for safe travel.
- Dogs must be in an area where they cannot affect the driver. The regulations in Spain say that the pet should be behind a barrier, but the back of a hatchback with a high back seat will usually be seen as ok. We have actually been stopped by Spanish traficos with our pets in the back of our hatchback and nothing was said apart from "what unusual dogs", so we were either lucky or the rules appeared to have been met.
- There are 'ares' throughout France and Spain along most major routes. These are areas where drivers can stop for a rest. Many contain picnic areas, shops and restaurants and nearly all have open spaces where you can exercise your dogs. You will certainly need to take advantage of these on the long drive down and through Spain with a pet.
When you move to Spain with a pet that is a breed not usually seen there, expect people to stare. The Spanish are quite open about staring, so don't get upset. They are just interested in your pet. Many Spaniards will come over and ask you about your dog (cats are not usually seen as anything special at all in Spain). The Spanish like animals, but their attitude is rather different than you will find in the UK.
Dogs in Spain are seen either as working animals (hunters or guard dogs), or household pets, the latter usually being quite small. Dogs in Spain are often fed and let out in the morning and brought in again at night, so expect to see many dogs wandering around your local Spanish village. Some will be strays, but most will be pets.
There are, however, quite a few stray dogs in Spain and pet lovers may have their heartstrings tugged many a time when they see some of these pathetic scraps. Strays seem to have an inner sense which tells them when an English person is in the area; they will follow you looking hopefully for some food and a warm bed.
Most people moving to Spain end up taking in at least one stray pet - usually a dog. This can entail great expense. The dog is usually suffering from malnutrition and tick ridden. We have addopted one stray to join our other two dogs. Her vets bills (although cheap in spain) have still been pretty horrendous. We live and learn.
Exercising your dog when you move to Spain isn't quite as easy at it might appear. The Spanish countryside is vast, with many open fields. However, most of these are owned by Spanish farmers who sometimes will not take kindly to your pet running across their crops or through their olive groves. It is best to ask the farmer and watch how the Spanish residents exercise their dogs. You should be ok then.
The Spanish also like hunting - usually with rifles aimed at small animals. They use dogs to pick up the kill. When you move to your new home in Spain, try to find out the dates and times of the hunts. You would not want your pet to be mistaken for prey.
Some areas of Spain are notorious for trapping. This is illegal but still goes on. Please ensure that any area you let your dog run free is well checked out by you first and if anything looks suspicious, keep away.
The ground is usually very dry in Spain. You may well find that when your dogs first run here they will cut themselves on sharp stones and gravel. Also watch out for sudden sheer drops. This is a mountanous country and you could even find the odd gorge in the middle of someone's field.
Many beaches in Spain also ban dogs; more each year, but there are still plenty of open beaches available for dog running if you live in a coastal area.
If this sounds off putting to a pet lover thinking of moving to Spain, it isn't meant to be. I'm just giving you a few warnings. With a bit of research of the countryside around your area of Spain most of you will be able to find somewhere to let your dogs run free, and the good thing is that many areas are far away from roads which is an added bonus for your pet's safety.
Overall, moving to Spain with your pet will entail lots of careful planning, some unavoidable trauma for your pet, some expense (mainly in UK vets bills), and a careful scouting of the local area when you get here, but if you have a family pet and are serious about moving to Spain it is worth it. Our dogs seem very happy to be here, especially considering the fuss they get from every Spanish person they meet because they are 'bonitas'.
Just remember that when you are thinking about moving to Spain, to think of the right way to do this for your pet.
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