Owners 'must act now for pet passports'

Owners who want to take their beloved pet on holiday with them this summer need to start applying for a pet passport now, an insurer has warned.



Halifax Pet Insurance said that the process behind the documentation took around six months from start to finish so it was necessary to start now in order to get things ready for the holiday season.

The first step is micro-chipping the pet to easily identify the owner, then having it vaccinated against rabies and wormed, with a vet required to certify that the vaccine was effective.

Next, owners must wait for six months before leaving the country with their pet.

Halifax said that as well as having the correct documentation to leave the country, it is essential that pets have insurance covering them for going abroad, insuring for vets' fees and unforeseen circumstances.

Vicky Watson from Halifax Pet Insurance said: "All owners who are considering taking their pets abroad on holiday should act now. The pet passport process will take six months to complete so by starting the stages now it will allow the pet to accompany the family on holiday in August."

'Ban to put pets at risk from passive smoking'

The smoking ban may mean that millions of British pets are at greater risk of smoking-related health problems, an insurer has claimed.

Research from pet insurance provider More Than discovered that three million British pet owners smoke around their pets regularly, with more than one million admitting that after the smoking ban comes into force, they will spend more time lighting up at home.

Consultant vet to More Than Sophie de Pelet explained that cats and dogs can suffer similar effects to humans when exposed to second-hand smoke - including breathing problems, watery eyes and coughing - which can lead to conditions such as lung cancer.

The insurer also cited international research which found that having two smokers in a household increases the chances of smoking-related illnesses four-fold in cats.

Melvin Everest, head of pet insurance for More Than, said: "'Paw-sive' smoking may sound like a joke, but it's a serious issue. Many pets are helpless to passive smoking, and it's sad to see that so many of them are at risk of serious illness because of their owners' behaviour."

Britons have spent £2.6 billion on buying cats and dogs in the last five years, according to figures from Halifax.

Pet insurance 'appealing to mass-market'. The pet insurance market has been growing "at an incredible rate" in recent years as more people get cover for their animals, it has been claimed.

Mark Effenburg, the CEO of Healthy Pets Insurance, said that while in the past it was mainly owners with pedigree pets that got insurance, now it had become more mass-market and growing numbers of people with cross-breed animals were getting covered.

Pet passports were also a factor in getting people interested, he explained, as pet insurance was mandatory in order to get a passport.

However, a spokesperson for Sainsbury's Bank warned that pet insurance figures were still very low and advised owners that "the cost of not having it far outweighs the cost of actually having it".

"One problem people do have is long-term care. If you insure your pet and he gets diabetes and your current insurer doesn't cover it … you drop that pet insurance and go to another provider, no-one will take you," the spokesperson commented.

Recent research from Debenhams Pet Insurance shows that just one in four owners have insured their animals.

Insurances Limited comments “Vets bills seem to be increasing at astronomical rates so it is no surprise that Pet Insurance is becoming very popular.”

Pets 'main object of owner affection' With National Pet Month having just started on April 7th, an insurer has claimed that many animal-loving Britons prefer their pets to their other halves.

More than a third (34 per cent) of those questioned by insurance provider Swiftcover.com said that they preferred to snuggle up on the sofa with their pet dog or cat than their partner.

Around 18 per cent said that they would rather share their home with their pet than their current partner, a figure that rises to 20 per cent among southerners.

Tina Shortle, marketing director at swiftcover.com, said: "National Pet Month is all about promoting responsible pet ownership so it's good to see that so many pet owners place their pets in such high affection."

She added that while Britons have a reputation for being animal lovers, preferring to spend time with animals rather than partners may mean that some have become the main object of their owners' affections.

Britons have spent £2.6 billion buying pet dogs and cats in the last five years according to Halifax Pet Insurance, although 59 per cent did not take into account the costs of items such as vet bills, food and pet beds before they bought them.