Despite EU regulations that allow pets to travel between EU countries under certain restrictions, the UK has disallowed pets to enter by means other than approved carriers. Restrictions are covered in this document.

http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/Pages/pets.aspx

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Ireland allows entry of cats by boat.

One should contact the e-mail address cited at
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/pets/
prior to travel.


The personalised reply will indicate:
1. That one should advise the harbourmaster a few days prior to arrival
2. The needed items, which arrival for non-stop sailors from the United States are:
(a) Veterinary Health Certificate in the form of Annex IV to Commission Implementing Decision 577/2013 veterinary health certificate (Annex 1 of Commission Decision 2013/519/EU)
(b) Item (a), further stamped by USDA less than 10 days prior to departure
(c) Rabies certificate
(d) The animal needs have a subcutaneous microchip
(e) That one should advise the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Marine prior to arrival

We have an appointment to secure a European Pet Passport from an Irish vet in a couple of days. Furnished with this, the animal should be OK anywhere in the EU, possibly including the UK (but we are not going there, so anyone interested should look into that).

Cheerio,

Our Onyx had an EU pet passport issued from Ireland. She was microchipped as you say and we had to supply not just a rabies certificate but antibody titres. It was relatively straightforward and our vets were thrilled to do it as it was the first they 'd heard of such a thing. The document itself is very impressive. Far more comprehensive than our own passports.

[attachment=232]OnyxIDPages.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=233]OnyxCover.jpg[/attachment]

By the way, on our Atlantic circuit, the only place we were asked to show her documentation and her microchip was scanned was in Canada.

Vice Commodore, OCC 

Our pet is a cat.

We went to Canada last year from the U.S. and checked in by telephone. We advised the person on the phone we had a cat and he moved on, no issue. He was more interested in the $100 he extracted from us as tax on the wine we had aboard.

When we departed Ireland this year for Brest, brand new Irish Pet Passport at hand, we decided to stop in the Scilly Islands for a couple of days. In June 2015, the information on the UK government websites was as follows:

1. From Ireland, with a European Pet Passport, no problem (2 places)
2. Absolutely no animals unless by scheduled airplane on airline with permission to convey pets on authorised route (1 place)

Evidently, information on 1. contradicts information on 2. Also, number 2. contradicts the rule about authorised ferries included on 1.

This, we read carefully while making loops a few miles offshore Saint Mary 's. Deciding there must be error, we took a mooring, and called the National Yachtline of Her Majesty 's government to declare arrival of two non-Euro humans and one cat bearing an Irish-issued European Pet Passport.

The gentleman on the phone took it all in stride, and said he would advise customs. Inquiring on whether we should be confined to the boat until customs arrived, he said the equivalent of "heavens, no! who knows when will there be a customs officer available?". I repeated if we could go out and about. He said yes.

We stayed a couple of days before sailing for France. The cat never debarked, as it is our custom to never let him.

Turns out you can write the UK government and inquire in advance about your particular case, as we did with great success for Ireland, but this was not possible for us as we arrived in the UK on a Friday after business hours.