Actual vet charges for Animal Health Certificates across UK

[Red Sonja]

Just seen a post on FB that vets4pets in Blackburn want £150 for the first dog and £55 for each additional dog.

I can't see them charging £12.50 in Hull.

 

[Googlebot]

Vets 4 pets in Walsall want £150.

 

[Cat-passenger]

It’s greed.. Alvervets Gosport -£150 !!! lucky me -I get 10% off as in a Pet Club...

 

[Alfie159]

Is it worth seeking Jim try get a National chain to offer discount ? Even 20% discount would really help open up tourism for some? Not sure how to tag him ?

 

[busby]

TBH the cost is irrelevant if you want to take a dog abroad as you must have the cert. I doubt any owners will travel miles out of their area to save a few quid at a cheaper vet.

Don't you,BUSBY.

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[Julie P]

Paul Jarman.. Seem really nice folk.. friendly informed young lady on the phone and all in all helpful

Paul Jarman Veterinary Surgeries

We used Paul Jarman at Attleborough to have Ruby’s teeth sorted. We had been quoted rather an alarming amount by OGHVets (who want £130 per dog for AHC) Paul Jarman Vets charged less than half. They were all lovely and Ruby has a Hollywood smile now! We will be using them for everything now and hopefully an AHC at the end of the year.

 

[helen peters]

I downloaded the form from DEFRA and filled it in myself. Took me 10 minutes for 2 dogs. It was a bit confusing as there is a lot of text to read, but once you’ve done one, all the rest would be a doddle. Can not see how this can cost anywhere near £100 per dog. You can have 5 dogs on one form also.

 

[Ivory55]

I downloaded the form from DEFRA and filled it in myself. Took me 10 minutes for 2 dogs. It was a bit confusing as there is a lot of text to read, but once you’ve done one, all the rest would be a doddle. Can not see how this can cost anywhere near £100 per dog. You can have 5 dogs on one form also.

I guess that’s how a free market works. If someone wants to pay what someone else is charging they can or not as they choose.

 

[The Dudess]

I downloaded the form from DEFRA and filled it in myself. Took me 10 minutes for 2 dogs. It was a bit confusing as there is a lot of text to read, but once you’ve done one, all the rest would be a doddle. Can not see how this can cost anywhere near £100 per dog. You can have 5 dogs on one form also.

Did you then have to have it certified by a vet?

 

[Spriddler]

Since your post re. cost has been closed to further replies have a look at the 16 pages of this thread ericonabike

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[ericonabike]

Just done that — agree, should have done so before posting elsewhere, but was spitting feathers at the time! Have now decided to pay whatever I have to for an AHC here, then get an EU passport in Portugal in September, making sure it's a three year vaccine. Fido's rabies jab expires in October, so getting a booster in September will be fine. Thank you maz for all the effort you've put in on this canine conundrum!

 

[John Barrett]

I downloaded the form from DEFRA and filled it in myself. Took me 10 minutes for 2 dogs. It was a bit confusing as there is a lot of text to read, but once you’ve done one, all the rest would be a doddle. Can not see how this can cost anywhere near £100 per dog. You can have 5 dogs on one form also.

I've just done the same. Simplicity itself. All the irrelevant bits are crossed out for you! Just for fun I'm going to take it to our local vet and enjoy the reaction!

France Form download here:

http://apha.defra.gov.uk/external-operations-admin/library/documents/exports/AHC09.pdf

Guidance notes here:

http://apha.defra.gov.uk/external-operations-admin/library/documents/exports/8233NFG.pdf

 

[Spriddler]

Can not see how this can cost anywhere near £100 per dog. You can have 5 dogs on one form also.

Judging by my vet's fees I expect the vet has a fixed min charge of £100 for any appointment regardless of what's needed, even if it does only take 10 minutes.

 

[ericonabike]

Having read through this thread, it seems the early part of the year was a golden time for AHCs! My own vet was "only" charging £150 then, as opposed to £250 now. Aother local vet I've just contacted sent me this:

"Hi
Thanks for your email.
The current cost for an Animal Health Certificate at our practice is £220. However we are not currently able to offer any appointments for them and do not have a timeframe for when we will be able to."

Only surprise is they did not include a two finger emoji as a sign-off..

 

[Val 3 dogs]

Wow! What a rip off. I'm glad I am not planning to visit tbe uk in tbe foreseeable future and that my dogs have bona-fide EU passports.
Talk about jumping on a band wagon!! I thought our vets were more ethical.than that.

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[gus-lopez]

I downloaded the form from DEFRA and filled it in myself. Took me 10 minutes for 2 dogs. It was a bit confusing as there is a lot of text to read, but once you’ve done one, all the rest would be a doddle. Can not see how this can cost anywhere near £100 per dog. You can have 5 dogs on one form also.

Do you want me to sign & stamp it with me john bull kit. Vet reg number extra

 

[Parrot Face]

Am i right in saying that you don't need any paperwork or treatment when leaving the uk but need the Health Certificate when returning? I only ask because i've noticed a lot of funsters suggesting that you get a european pet passport in the country that you visit. I plan on not visiting our vet but driving to France or Spain and getting a passport from a vet in one of these countries.

 

[138go]

When travelling to an EU country or Northern Ireland, your pet needs:

• a microchip
• a valid rabies vaccination
• an animal health certificate unless you have a pet passport issued in an EUcountry or Northern Ireland
• tapeworm treatment for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway or Malta.

 

[Landy Andy]

Am i right in saying that you don't need any paperwork or treatment when leaving the uk but need the Health Certificate when returning? I only ask because i've noticed a lot of funsters suggesting that you get a european pet passport in the country that you visit. I plan on not visiting our vet but driving to France or Spain and getting a passport from a vet in one of these countries.

No you are NOT correct.
To leave the UK and enter Europe you need the AHC, proof of rabies jab that must be up to date and a dog that has a microchip.

 

[Top Hat]

Am i right in saying that you don't need any paperwork or treatment when leaving the uk but need the Health Certificate when returning? I only ask because i've noticed a lot of funsters suggesting that you get a european pet passport in the country that you visit. I plan on not visiting our vet but driving to France or Spain and getting a passport from a vet in one of these countries.

The animal health certificate is a EU requirement, a vet in the UK has to issue one to enter the eu, to return to the uk is as normal worming within 5 days.
People are getting a EU Pet passport so future visits to the eu the animal health certificate will not be required

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[Minxy]

When travelling to an EU country or Northern Ireland, your pet needs:

• a microchip
• a valid rabies vaccination
• an animal health certificate unless you have a pet passport issued in an EUcountry or Northern Ireland
• tapeworm treatment for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway or Malta.

Not totally correct, at present the requirement for the above for travelling to NI isn't required, it may come in from 1st October 2021 but that's still being decided at present so if you go before then there's no requirement for anything.

 

[Minxy]

Not totally correct, at present the requirement for the above for travelling to NI isn't required, it may come in from 1st October 2021 but that's still being decided at present so if you go before then there's no requirement for anything.

I haven't checked for a while but still think that even with an EU PP you'll still need to the a UK vet to do the worming treatment to enter the EU.

 

[Landy Andy]

I haven't checked for a while but still think that even with an EU PP you'll still need to the a UK vet to do the worming treatment to enter the EU.

We’ve never done a worming treatment to enter the eu. We have to enter the uk, but not the eu.

 

[maz]

I haven't checked for a while but still think that even with an EU PP you'll still need to the a UK vet to do the worming treatment to enter the EU.

Not so, unless you are travelling directly to Finland, Norway, Malta or Republic of Ireland - plus the b*ll*cks that has been created between GB and Northern Ireland. These countries are known to be free of the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm (as indeed is GB, but no longer in the eyes of the EU), whereas the rest of Europe does have it. So no point in worming your dog against a tapeworm that doesn’t exist in the UK in order to enter an area that has it. It’s the other way round.

 

[Aireworth]

Having read through this thread, it seems the early part of the year was a golden time for AHCs! My own vet was "only" charging £150 then, as opposed to £250 now. Aother local vet I've just contacted sent me this:

"Hi
Thanks for your email.
The current cost for an Animal Health Certificate at our practice is £220. However we are not currently able to offer any appointments for them and do not have a timeframe for when we will be able to."

Only surprise is they did not include a two finger emoji as a sign-off..

Because of Brexit, Covid, IR35 changes etc there is a considerable shortage of vets at the moment, with many practices not taking new clients and lead times of 3-4 weeks to get a routine appointment fairly common. I've heard of several that have had to close there doors completely for periods because of lack of staff. So a price of £250 is really a reflection of that - they've plenty of work they are familiar with to do and they don't want to be bothered with something 5 times more complex than a Pets Passport, where they're asked to do 1 or 2 a month and where the only feedback they'll get is grief if things go wrong. And they're expected to do it for the price of a Pets Passport.
As for the "I could fill it in in 10 minutes*" - well probably you could, and you'd probably get it right after you'd done 10 or12. But I don't think you can

1. prefill the form online
2. download and print the form
3. examine the animal
4. check and transfer the vaccine status
5. read the microchip
6. check owner declarations
7. complete the form
8. complete the form again in a foreign language
9. copy completed form and necessary support documents
10. upload all of these to the APHA website
11. sign off the cert online to say its been done

in anything near 10 minutes, as well as chat to the client and listen to them moan about the price.
Now a lot of the above is administrative, and in practices setup to do a decent amount of AHCs, a lot of it could be done by office staff once they're familiar with the systems. But look at the veterinary forms and there's a lot of moaning and angst about AHC's - not many vets want to do them, especially when they're so busy with other stuff and they're only seeing one or two a month.

(*if anybody wants to send me their AHC they filled in in 10 minutes, I'll happily critique it and give you an idea if your animal will get across the border! (I have form in this sort of stuff))

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[gus-lopez]

with many practices not taking new clients and lead times of 3-4 weeks to get a routine appointment fairly common.

If they hadn't left they could have made use of the substantial amount of spanish vets unemployed or in other jobs from here. Then again if they hadn't left they would still have some of the spanish vets who worked in the UK & returned to spain due to the UK leaving.
Where I lived in Devon 20 years back every vet in the abbattoir was a spanish female. the defra vet was , headhunted from the veterinary practice.

 

[Aireworth]

If they hadn't left they could have made use of the substantial amount of spanish vets unemployed or in other jobs from here. Then again if they hadn't left they would still have some of the spanish vets who worked in the UK & returned to spain due to the UK leaving.
Where I lived in Devon 20 years back every vet in the abbattoir was a spanish female. the defra vet was , headhunted from the veterinary practice.

Many still are, but as you say, many have left.

 

[15edward]

I’m hoping the NI solution with be the swiss equivalence approach which will restore the pet passport as before

 

[Val 3 dogs]

Trouble is we did leave and have to live in the here and now, not what might have been.

 

[TizzyOnTour]

Because of Brexit, Covid, IR35 changes etc there is a considerable shortage of vets at the moment, with many practices not taking new clients and lead times of 3-4 weeks to get a routine appointment fairly common. I've heard of several that have had to close there doors completely for periods because of lack of staff. So a price of £250 is really a reflection of that - they've plenty of work they are familiar with to do and they don't want to be bothered with something 5 times more complex than a Pets Passport, where they're asked to do 1 or 2 a month and where the only feedback they'll get is grief if things go wrong. And they're expected to do it for the price of a Pets Passport.
As for the "I could fill it in in 10 minutes*" - well probably you could, and you'd probably get it right after you'd done 10 or12. But I don't think you can

1. prefill the form online
2. download and print the form
3. examine the animal
4. check and transfer the vaccine status
5. read the microchip
6. check owner declarations
7. complete the form
8. complete the form again in a foreign language
9. copy completed form and necessary support documents
10. upload all of these to the APHA website
11. sign off the cert online to say its been done

in anything near 10 minutes, as well as chat to the client and listen to them moan about the price.
Now a lot of the above is administrative, and in practices setup to do a decent amount of AHCs, a lot of it could be done by office staff once they're familiar with the systems. But look at the veterinary forms and there's a lot of moaning and angst about AHC's - not many vets want to do them, especially when they're so busy with other stuff and they're only seeing one or two a month.

(*if anybody wants to send me their AHC they filled in in 10 minutes, I'll happily critique it and give you an idea if your animal will get across the border! (I have form in this sort of stuff))

This certainly seems a fair reflection of the situation, matching exactly what our Vet disclosed to us today when we visited for our two dogs annual MOT. The vet was saying they have been under pressure from clients to produce sometimes several AHC's a day, mainly from people returning to Europe having lived in the UK plus a limited number of people going on holiday. The vet said each time it takes her around 45 minutes to pre-fill all the known information, then more time to check the animal properly, before completing the paperwork, signing the declarations, etc. She estimates total time required for our 2 dogs will be a 90 minute appointment, plus her pre-admin, and quoted £250 total for the two dogs.

She was very clear that once borders open up with more freedom of travel they simply will be unable to cope with demand and still deliver the normal range of services. Her prediction is that either the Government will resolve the problem by getting EU agreement to go back to Pet Passports or specialist businesses will end up setting up purely to handle the demand on the vet industry to produce AHC's. A problem looming for 2022 I suspect.

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