Actual vet charges for Animal Health Certificates across UK (1 Viewer)

[John Barrett]

I like the idea of highlighting the cost of AHCs and Ms Middlemiss seems as good a person as any to write to.

I’m a bit confused tho’ as to protesting about the need for a ‘further examination and certification before returning to the UK’. This presumably refers to the worming requirement - but that has always been necessary with Pet Passports. I don’t have an issue with that (altho’ it’s a bit of a pain) as it seems mainland Europe has different types of tapeworms to the UK.

That's the main thrust of my letter. What's good enough for the EU is apparently not good enough for us!

 

[maz]

That's the main thrust of my letter. What's good enough for the EU is apparently not good enough for us!

Then IMO I think you need to change your main thrust. The reason for the worming requirement is to prevent a particular tapeworm, Echinococcus multilocularis, being introduced into the UK. This tapeworm is already found throughout continental Europe.

 

[Marshall Blair]

Now that vets are beginning to announce their charges for issuing Animal Health Certificates, I thought it would be interesting to start doing a little online research. Most vets’ websites I’ve found are remarkably coy about what they intend to charge for an AHC, even those vets who happily list their prices for a range of other services.

Two vets whose websites do include prices for AHCs are worth commenting on:

1. Mansion Hill Vets, nr Banbury

They reckon that it will take them 45 minutes to complete an AHC, for which their charge is £124.

https://www.mansionhillvets.co.uk/2020/12/16/travel-to-the-eu-after-brexit/

2. St Anne’s Veterinary Group, Eastbourne

Hold the record so far for most expensive AHC at £136.06 for the first animal plus £91.43 for each subsequent animal on the same AHC.

https://stannesvets.co.uk/current-pricelist.html

In various other threads, a couple of Funsters have mentioned what their local vets propose to charge:

Jaws in Norfolk £50

weekenders in Leicestershire £54

Can I ask for the names and addresses (or websites) of these vets, please.

If anyone else has details of or links to other vets with known charges for AHCs, please post them in this thread. It could become a useful resource for many pet owners. Thank you.

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[emjaiuk]

I think a lot of people have misunderstood ANCs and UK entry. The UK gov. has said all along that UK entry requirements such as worming wont change. The only difference that I am aware of is that IF YOU CHOOSE, you can have details of the pre-entry worming treatment entered on the ANC rather than a Pet Passport, although details entered on a valid UK issued passport will be accepted for entry/re-entry.

The requirement for an ANC for entry to the EU is an EU requirement, nothing to do with the UK government. The operation of completing and charging for completion of an ANC is a matter for private UK businesses, and I can't see the UK government interfering with that.

Never mind, we've got our freedom back

 

[Ukbandit]

Just been to vets in Benidorm for checks and worming back to U.K. I asked her about getting an EU pet passport to get round the AHC certificate our U.K. vets want to rip us off with.
she told me anyone can get an EU passport but you must have a new rabies injection at the same time and if any vets in the U.K. fill anything out on it it becomes void. Only EU vets allowed to enter anything in it.
So I asked her about the AHC forms in Spain and yes they do have the same forms for other for people to visit other countries outside of the EU. I asked how much they were, she checked her records for the last one she filled in 6 months ago and guess what €42. She laughed when I said U.K. vets were quoting £120.

 

[TheDogMan]

There is uproar in NI because the total cost to get the dogs to the mainland, a lot of dog handlers enter dog shows in scotland & England and if they take an number of dogs with them the cost just for the travel could be £250 to £300 per dog thats without the ferry cost. the Kennel Club are trying to lobby the government about it. As the importing of sandwiches ect its the EU deciding to be bloody minded to punish us for Brexit.

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[Minxy]

May I comment on your points raised.

1. The Clerk completing the form was not mentioned in my post. It is the job of the Vet to scan and sign it.
2. A Veterinary Clerk who 'skips' through the form would not last long in my employ if I was a member of that much lauded profession!
3. Having seen the form, the need for hours of training does make me a little uneasy as to the literacy of a modern Vet...

Ref the form ... what does it entail in reality? How much time is it likely to take do you think?

 

[Foo Fighter]

Christian Marks in Bernkastel Keus sorted our pooch in late Nov. Brilliant service and 9€ with a nice slice of emmental for the bribery

 

[Minxy]

I think a lot of people have misunderstood ANCs and UK entry. The UK gov. has said all along that UK entry requirements such as worming wont change. The only difference that I am aware of is that IF YOU CHOOSE, you can have details of the pre-entry worming treatment entered on the ANC rather than a Pet Passport, although details entered on a valid UK issued passport will be accepted for entry/re-entry.

The requirement for an ANC for entry to the EU is an EU requirement, nothing to do with the UK government. The operation of completing and charging for completion of an ANC is a matter for private UK businesses, and I can't see the UK government interfering with that.

Never mind, we've got our freedom back

First just to stop confusion its AHC, not ANC - we don't want anyone trying to look up ANC as we don't know what they'd find but judging by some stuff on the internet it could be dodgy!

Secondly AFAIK the worming info has to be on the AHC, or a new AHC if over 4 months as the old one will have expired - the UK issued PP will be null and void anything entered into it will likely be ignored too, unless you have something that says otherwise.

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[DBK]

Ref the form ... what does it entail in reality? How much time is it likely to take do you think?

It's nine pages but they only need to write on four of them I think.

This is an English/Dutch version (PDF). The bits crossed out are I think not required for non-commercial movement of the animal.

http://apha.defra.gov.uk/external-operations-admin/library/documents/exports/AHC05.pdf

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

It may be 9 pages but surely the vet doesn't need to read it every time? Once read it's the same form for every animal.Its just the bits that need filling in that are on 3 pages and most will have the old pet passports to transfer info from.

 

[Googlebot]

I am hopeful common sense will prevail and the passport will be accepted again.

No use blaming the EU or the UK either, we voted out and as such become a third country with all the required documentation to go with it. Nobody is punishing anybody either way, it isn’t in the EU interests or the UK’s. It surprises me when people get cross about the inevitable with the B word.

It might be possible to write to your MP and encourage them to negotiate with the EU to accept the pet passports again, which would be sensible and pragmatic. I would do so, but mine has stopped replying to me.

It will almost be cheaper to leave her at home with the eye watering costs mentioned, but she is an idiot and won’t eat if we leave her.

We actually changed vets last year as we had some poor advice with regards to travel abroad and if it hadn’t been for Coronavirus stopping us, we would have been unable to take her.

In their defence though, the advice was confusing and late and in the end wrong. We didn’t need a rabies test after all.

The new vet is also much more expensive, so we might be going back with her tail between her legs.

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[ericonabike]

Think I can claim a new record then. Park Vets in Leicester quoted me £150. I like them, and so queried the cost, once I'd got my breath back, but they said "there's a lot of paperwork"...

Sunlit uplands....

 

[maz]

I am hopeful common sense will prevail and the passport will be accepted again.

That would be great but somehow I doubt it. However a big for lots of lovely optimism.

Beautiful dog BTW.

 

[maz]

Think I can claim a new record then. Park Vets in Leicester quoted me £150. I like them, and so queried the cost, once I'd got my breath back, but they said "there's a lot of paperwork"...

Sunlit uplands....

Good grief!

Lovely to see you posting again Eric. Happy memories from the days of the Thursday quiz.

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[Helen Ariel]

There is uproar in NI because the total cost to get the dogs to the mainland, a lot of dog handlers enter dog shows in scotland & England and if they take an number of dogs with them the cost just for the travel could be £250 to £300 per dog thats without the ferry cost. the Kennel Club are trying to lobby the government about it. As the importing of sandwiches ect its the EU deciding to be bloody minded to punish us for Brexit.

I know my local rescue centre brings lots of dogs over from Ireland as there is more demand here than supply. I wonder if this will affect them too?

 

[Hirsch]

Think I can claim a new record then. Park Vets in Leicester quoted me £150. I like them, and so queried the cost, once I'd got my breath back, but they said "there's a lot of paperwork"...

Sunlit uplands....

We use them but we won't be using them if you get my drift. Consumers have the power if they can be bothered to use it.

 

[Nomadian]

Bishop Henry & Edwards in Newport Shropshire quoted me £158.78 for the first dog and £108.78 for the second Not a penny of my money will be going there way.

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[emjaiuk]

First just to stop confusion its AHC, not ANC - we don't want anyone trying to look up ANC as we don't know what they'd find but judging by some stuff on the internet it could be dodgy!

Secondly AFAIK the worming info has to be on the AHC, or a new AHC if over 4 months as the old one will have expired - the UK issued PP will be null and void anything entered into it will likely be ignored too, unless you have something that says otherwise.

I can’t remember where but I seem to recollect that UK issued PPs will only be null and void in the EU. All that is needed for worming is official certification of the dispensing of the tablets and confirmation that the chip number marked on that certification relates to the dog in question. What reason would there be for the UK to invalidate a UK issued document being used for UK purposes?

 

[Minxy]

I can’t remember where but I seem to recollect that UK issued PPs will only be null and void in the EU. All that is needed for worming is official certification of the dispensing of the tablets and confirmation that the chip number marked on that certification relates to the dog in question. What reason would there be for the UK to invalidate a UK issued document being used for UK purposes?

Info from the govt site which is what you may have read, this is where it gets 'muddy' though as there is no mention of where the return worming should be entered, so it's debatable whether it should be on the UK issued PP or the AHC, but as we'd need the AHC when going out of the UK it seems sensible to have it put on the same document when returning as that definitely has a section for this purpose and we know it would be accepted on that. I wouldn't like to risk it only being on the PP in case I met a stroppy 'official' (aka similar to the Dutch sandwich confiscator!). We'll definitely explore getting EU PPs for our mutts the first time we go abroad as no way am I gonna stump up stupid money for UK vets to rip us off every time even though we'll still have to go to them for the worming prior to exiting the UK it still won't cost anything like an AHC each time.

Pet travel documents​

Your pet must have one of the following documents when entering or returning to GB:​

• an EU pet passport issued in the EU (or in GB if issued before 1 January 2021), or a pet passport from another Part 1 listed third country
• the animal health certificate (AHC) issued in GB used to travel to the EU – which you can use to re-enter GB for up to 4 months after it was issued
• a GB pet health certificate (for travel into GB only)

Pet travel: to and from Great Britain - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)​

 

[Julie P]

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

Paul Jarman Veterinary Surgeries

Handy! We live near Attleborough. He’s not our vet but he might soon be thanks for that!

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[maz]

We'll definitely explore getting EU PPs for our mutts the first time we go abroad as no way am I gonna stump up stupid money for UK vets to rip us off every time even though we'll still have to go to them for the worming prior to exiting the UK it still won't cost anything like an AHC each time.

​

You don’t need worming done to enter the EU unless (according to that same government website) you are ‘travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway or Malta‘.

The government website makes less sense to me each time I read it.

 

[maz]

Bishop Henry & Edwards in Newport Shropshire quoted me £158.78 for the first dog and £108.78 for the second Not a penny of my money will be going there way.

New record!

 

[rb62]

Bishop Henry & Edwards in Newport Shropshire quoted me £158.78 for the first dog and £108.78 for the second Not a penny of my money will be going there way.

Which is why we always use Tern vets,although we havn't approached them regarding the AHC yet,waiting for the dust to setttle and the dog needs her rabies booster in April.
Titre test was £108 which we thought was about right and considerably less than some others I saw!

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[emjaiuk]

The government website makes less sense to me each time I read it.

Problems may arise if clarity isn't given regarding UK entry/re-entry regulations, because if there is ambiguity interpretation could come down to how Eurotunnel and the ferries implement them.

 

[Minxy]

You don’t need worming done to enter the EU unless (according to that same government website) you are ‘travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway or Malta‘.

The government website makes less sense to me each time I read it.

Sorry I was in 'Ireland' mode as that's where we've been thinking of going in the future thus 'fresh' on my brain - we love the place but the crossing is very expensive even if we use our Tesco vouchers and then we'd need to add the cost of worming going out so makes it even more expensive (not required to go TO mainland EU).

At some point I'll do a 'check sheet' of exactly what is needed for each place we want to go to as that will be much easier than trying to read the various website to find the exact snippets relating to them.

 

[Minxy]

Problems may arise if clarity isn't given regarding UK entry/re-entry regulations, because if there is ambiguity interpretation could come down to how Eurotunnel and the ferries implement them.

Hence why I'd have the return worming entered on the AHC rather than in the UK PP ... just to be safe!

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[maz]

Since I’ve now had my lunch and am therefore feeling somewhat stronger, I’ve revisited the UK government website concerning all things pet travel - but this time I’m specifically interested in tapeworms.

As mentioned in an earlier post, for travelling from GB:

However, for travelling into GB:

Now from my reading on various scholarly sites, GB, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway and Malta are all regarded as being free of the wretched Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm. Therefore one might expect that direct travel between any of these countries would not require worming treatment.

This theory is supported by the Finnish Food Authority, who list among their FAQs:

So to me that first screenshot makes no sense at all. Why on earth are we supposed to get our dogs wormed to travel to other worm-free countries, when we don’t have this worm in GB to start with?

I now need to lie down in a darkened room with soft music playing ......

 

[Minxy]

So to me that first screenshot makes no sense at all. Why on earth are we supposed to get our dogs wormed to travel to other worm-free countries, when we don’t have this worm in GB to start with?

I now need to lie down in a darkened room with soft music playing ......

I know, it just doesn't make sense does it! One of the benefits of going to/from Ireland was not having to have the worming done in either direction, now it's just an added complications/cost.

 

[Nomadian]

Which is why we always use Tern vets,although we havn't approached them regarding the AHC yet,waiting for the dust to setttle and the dog needs her rabies booster in April.
Titre test was £108 which we thought was about right and considerably less than some others I saw!

I e mailed Tern vets Newport Shropshire and they have replied quoting me £125 each pet.

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