Name: Pets will need EU passport to travel to Northern Ireland
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Pets will need EU passport to travel to Northern Ireland

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British cats, dogs and ferrets will need an EU pet passport to travel to Northern Ireland after the end of the Brexit transition period, it has been confirmed.The creation of an internal “pet border” in the United Kingdom from Jan&nbsp;1 next year is a result of the Withdrawal Agreement Boris Johnson negotiated with Brussels.&nbsp;That deal effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s customs territory and moves the border between it and the Republic to the Irish Sea to prevent the need for inflammatory checks on the border after Brexit.&nbsp;The EU’s Pet Travel Scheme allows for the free movement of cats, dogs and ferrets in the bloc without the need for quarantine.&nbsp; A quarter of a million British pets use their passports to travel in the EU every year, according to the European Commission.&nbsp;Joe Moran is deputy coordinator of the UK-EU Animal Welfare Taskforce and works for the Eurogroup for Animals, an umbrella organisation for 70 animal welfare charities.&nbsp;“You can't refer to the UK at all in this case as a single unit any more,” he said.&nbsp;“Pet passports will be needed between Great Britain and Northern Ireland."Animals from mainland Britain travelling to Northern Ireland will need the documents, as will pet owners in Northern Ireland travelling back from Great Britain.The requirement for an EU-approved pet passport is a best-case scenario. It is subject to the European Commission agreeing a British request to be considered a “listed” non-EU country that meets the necessary health requirements.If Brussels decides to withhold approval, a more burdensome certification system will be necessary.&nbsp;If approval is granted, British holidaymakers will be able to carry on taking their pets to Europe as they do now. As the passports are meant to last for the lifetime of the animal, Mr Moran said, it may not be necessary to replace existing EU ones.“The request is under examination,” an EU source told the Telegraph.&nbsp;&nbsp;Such “third country” pet passports will have the same information as the EU passports, which are blue, but will look different.&nbsp;“Certain aspects of the format of the passport are to be decided by the UK authorities,” the EU source said, when asked about the colour of the new passport.&nbsp;UK sources said the new documents would be “modelled” on the existing EU pet passports. That risks disappointing Brexiteer pet owners looking forward to changing their red human passport for the traditional British blue one.&nbsp;“We are working with the European Commission to ensure pet travel between the UK and EU continues smoothly after January 2021,” a UK government spokesman said.&nbsp;“During the transition period the current rules on pet travel between the UK and EU continue to apply, meaning travellers may continue to use their existing pet passports.”The admission that a new pet border will be created comes the day after the Government confessed that businesses in Northern Ireland will face additional barriers to trade with Britain after Brexit, despite Boris Johnson’s promises to the contrary.Related TopicsThe Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our.You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Find out more.Show commentsAdvertisementRelated TopicsWe rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism.We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future.Thank you for your support.Need help?Visit ourpage.Close

British cats, dogs and ferrets will need an EU pet passport to travel to Northern Ireland after the end of the Brexit transition period, it has been confirmed.The creation of an internal “pet border” in the United Kingdom from Jan&nbsp;1 next year is a result of the Withdrawal Agreement Boris Johnson negotiated with Brussels.&nbsp;That deal effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s customs territory and moves the border between it and the Republic to the Irish Sea to prevent the need for inflammatory checks on the border after Brexit.&nbsp;The EU’s Pet Travel Scheme allows for the free...

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James Crisp

By James Crisp

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Pets will need EU passport to travel to Northern Ireland

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