longjohnsilver
Well-Known Member
And increase their profits! To take my 2 small dogs on the Cherbourg to Poole route costs about £50, and they are not allowed out of the car. Nice little earner for them!!
Sailing with a dog to France and back
- Thread starter davethedog
- Start date
And increase their profits! To take my 2 small dogs on the Cherbourg to Poole route costs about £50, and they are not allowed out of the car. Nice little earner for them!!
EdWingfield
Well-Known Member
And, you are not allowed down to the car decks whilst ship underway. Rover will have puked, crapped and wee'd all over place. Enjoy your drive home.
maby
Well-Known Member
I don't see how the rules about not allowing them out of the car increase profits - they will charge at least as much either way. I think it is more a reaction to the extreme irresponsibility of some dog owners. Far too many people own large and aggressive dogs as a fashion accessory - and ferries are relatively confined spaces. A dog going mad on a crowded ferry could do a lot of damage - it's simply easier to insist that they are all confined for the duration of the crossing.
Mister E
Well-Known Member
I think that there may be a ferry from Holand that allows dogs with foot passengers.
There is one from France that allows dogs in certain cabins, I do not know if this is for car users only.
There is one from France that allows dogs in certain cabins, I do not know if this is for car users only.
Otter
Well-Known Member
I think that technically the law is that you can take them there and back by private boat/yacht but the dogs must never be allowed out of the lower cabin level, i.e. not even on deck. Why you'd want to do that though and how you'd prove you didn't let them up?
maby
Well-Known Member
I think you are right on this - the law only applies once the animal has set foot on foreign soil. I'm not sure that there is any requirement to keep them below deck. I guess the logic is that there is nothing to stop you taking your dog or cat aboard in an English marina and going out for a day sailing - and that sail could extend right up to the French coast without implying any restriction on the animal when you return to this country. I suppose that the restriction could start to apply when you actually tie up to a French pontoon, but how about those that anchor up and go ashore by dinghy?
EdWingfield
Well-Known Member
In a Brit port a dog must be kept below. I warned a skipper of this. At his next Brit port he took his dog ashore for walkies. He was fast-tracked to the Magistrates Court and relieved of £1500.
maby
Well-Known Member
You are referring to dogs arriving on foreign vessels visiting this country, aren't you?
I think the point being discussed here is that the French do not apply similar restrictions on the movements of dogs arriving on foreign flagged vessels and the chances of the British authorities recognising that a dog arriving on a British flagged boat in a British marina has been ashore in France are vanishingly small.
macd
Well-Known Member
It's worthwhile that you point out the penalties, but the fine was presumably for the 'walkies' and says nothing one way or the other about the veracity of your claim that dogs must remain below.
EdWingfield
Well-Known Member
It is not about flags Mr Maby. It is about International voyages and disease control. A Brit flag gives no exemption.
I have no knowledge of State of France restrictions.
ashtead
Well-Known Member
On basis that you can legally take your dog to CI can it land now or does it have for example to stay on the pontoon? I can recall that the local greeting at St Peter Port is " Do you have a dog on board". If however it does permit visiting dogs are there not risks of French dogs landing? I believe you can sail from France to Ireland and land for walkies ? There also seems to be no restrictions on dogs travelling across Irish Sea ?
Mister E
Well-Known Member
So if I go to Milford Haven I have to keep my dog down below?
How can I get the dog on the boat from the car?
Mister E
Well-Known Member
As I would like to sail to Milford Haven from Pwllheli I would like to be sure that I am not going to get the "Your dog must stay down below" treatment.
macd
Well-Known Member
I doubt the first part, if by it you meant without going through pet passport procedures, authorised carriers, etc. The second is correct.
I believe that rabies measures have long been harmonised between RoI and UK, possibly since the establishment of the Common Travel Area in the 1920s. (The CTA also includes IoM and CI.) It's worth noting that dogs routinely travel between the UK and RoI, even without accompanying humans.
It seems that until quite recently no pet passports were required for dogs travelling between the UK and Ireland. However, allegedly because of precisely the concerns touched on in an earlier post (i.e. dogs arriving casually in Ireland from France and later travelling to the UK), this was revised:
https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/2057038256
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maby
Well-Known Member
A British flag gives no exemption from the restrictions on bringing an animal that has set foot on foreign soil into this country, but I believe that it does impact on the presumption that will be made by Border Force officers. There is no blanket ban on dogs (or cats, for that matter) being on deck on boats in British ports or marinas. There may well be a ban on animals that have been ashore in other countries being out on deck - I have never seen that stated, but it is not an unreasonable rule. If a Border Force officer sees an animal on deck in a British port or marina and the boat is a British flagged boat, then the presumption must be that the animal is not subject to restrictions unless there is evidence that the boat has been to another country. If the boat is foreign flagged, then the presumption will be the other way round - the animal has come from the country of origin and is subject to landing controls.
We have Spanish friends who have been on their boat in a British marina for several months and our cat visits their boat quite frequently - he's not breaking any rules because he's never been outside this country.
All this simply draws attention to the stupidity of the current laws which are unenforceable. You see many animals (mostly dogs) on boats along the south coast of Britain and those boats can be in France within a few hours. The Border Force has nowhere near the capacity to track them all, so they have no idea whether or not the pets on board have broken the rules. Worse than that, there is a perfectly legal way to bring your dog back from France on your privately owned boat - just stop off in Dublin for a couple of hours. The Irish have no law against animals from France landing and we have an open border with Southern Ireland - there is no restriction on you taking your dog from Milford Haven to Dublin and back in your boat. I maintain that, if the government were willing to adjust the law to permit the movement of pets on private boats subject to an approved person such as the harbour master checking pet passports on arrival, we would not reduce security and may well improve it. Currently it is so well known that the law is unenforceable that it is simply ignored.
maby
Well-Known Member
When we researched this last year, the ROI did not have a ban on animals entering the country on private boats provided they met all the requirements of the pet passport scheme.
macd
Well-Known Member
I that from elsewhere in the CTA, or from countries beyond it?
maby
Well-Known Member
From the rest of the EU. I have to admit that a quick scan of the Irish Ministry of Agriculture web site just now didn't uncover any definitive statement on the subject either way, but there is the following which confirms that they are a lot more relaxed about it than the UK authorities :
"Cats, dogs or ferrets from other Member States of the EU may enter Ireland through any port/airport of entry and may be transported by any airline or ferry company operating within the State that is willing to transport such animals.
As regards air travel, the Department does not require that pets from the EU be carried as manifested freight and it is therefore a matter for the airlines to decide whether to carry the animal in the cabin or as excess baggage. "
maby
Well-Known Member
Follow-up... The RYA web site says the following:
"Republic of Ireland
The Republic of Ireland has implemented EU regulations harmonising travel for dogs, cats and ferrets throughout the EU. Accompanied pets may enter Ireland without quarantine as long as they meet the rules for travelling under the EU Pet Travel Scheme.
If you are travelling with a pet on a private vessel (or aircraft) you are required to notify the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at least 5 working days in advance of travel by email to livetrade@agriculture.gov.ie.
At present, UK domestic legislation does not require pet owners to use approved routes or carriers when bringing pets to the UK from the Republic of Ireland."
The second paragraph strongly indicates to me that you can take your dog or cat into Eire on a private boat provided you give them advance warning. The final paragraph, equally, indicates that you can then carry on to the UK.
"Republic of Ireland
The Republic of Ireland has implemented EU regulations harmonising travel for dogs, cats and ferrets throughout the EU. Accompanied pets may enter Ireland without quarantine as long as they meet the rules for travelling under the EU Pet Travel Scheme.
If you are travelling with a pet on a private vessel (or aircraft) you are required to notify the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at least 5 working days in advance of travel by email to livetrade@agriculture.gov.ie.
At present, UK domestic legislation does not require pet owners to use approved routes or carriers when bringing pets to the UK from the Republic of Ireland."
The second paragraph strongly indicates to me that you can take your dog or cat into Eire on a private boat provided you give them advance warning. The final paragraph, equally, indicates that you can then carry on to the UK.
macd
Well-Known Member
Worryingly ambiguous. Does the "may be transported by any airline or ferry company" include or exclude other means of transport?
I've no axe to grind here, maby: just concerned to identify the true situation.