(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order amends the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974 and the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999. The substantive changes are as follows.
It permits the entry into England of cats or dogs which have been admitted into Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man if they were admitted under a scheme similar to the scheme in the Pet Travel Scheme (Pilot Arrangements) (England) Order 1999 (article 2(2)).
It adds Norway to the countries from which cats and dogs may be imported in accordance with Council Directive 92/65/EEC (OJ No. L268, 14.9.92, p. 54). Norway was added to the list of countries from which cats and dogs can be imported into the United Kingdom by the Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No. 69/98 amending Annex I (Veterinary and Phytosanitary Matters) to the EEA Agreement (OJ No. L158, 24/6/1999, page 1; the relevant amendment is at page 35) (article 2(3)).
It amends article 6(3) of the 1974 Order so as to remove the requirement that an animal must have been resident for six months in a qualifying country before it can be exempted from the requirement for vaccination for rabies when it is in quarantine (article 2(5)).
It amends the 1999 Order so as to exclude an acaricidal collar from the permitted treatments against ticks (article 3(2)).
It provides that, in countries or territories which operate an official identification system for cats and dogs, the vaccination against rabies and subsequent blood test may be carried out before the animal is identified with a microchip instead of after identification with the microchip, and permits the certificate in Schedule 3 to the 1999 Order to be varied accordingly.
A regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared for this Order.