Rooker: inoculation instead of quarantine

Rabies Quarantine Laws May be Relaxed

The Junior Agriculture Minister, Jeff Rooker, confirmed in a written answer in the House of Commons that he was prepared to consider inoculation as a substitute for the current six month quarantine requirement.

Mr Rooker's statement follows last month's announcement that ministers would review the whole quarantine system as it affected domestic pets.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Agriculture Food and Fisheries said that the details of the review had yet to be set in place. "You have to make sure that any substitute is as effective as quarantine in keeping Britain rabies free," she said.

Lady Mary Fretwell, chairwoman of the lobby group Passports for Pets, said Mr Rooker's answer was "a step in the right direction".

Lady Fretwell, who has had to put three of her own dogs through quarantine on returning to Britain with her husband from diplomatic duties, added that the group would still be pushing for a "clear policy statement" from the Government, and a green paper.

"We still have a long way to go," she said. "But it is a positive answer and encouraging. We hope they will now make a decision based on information, and correct the myths that have existed." Lady Fretwell added there was no need for animals that had been vaccinated against rabies to be placed in quarantine.

"We have been working to change the law for two-and-a-half years because the system is outdated and wrong," she said. "The UK is one of the few countries which has kept the law, becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the world."

The RSPCA has given a cautious welcome to the Government's proposals. Speaking on BBC Radio's Today programme, their spokesman Bill Swan said that provided that the appropriate criteria are met to ensure a rabies-free Britain, "then the RSPCA would welcome a system that removes the need for quarantine".

The RSPCA gives a qualified welcome to the proposals