LAST week I wrote about UK Pet Passports no longer being valid for travel to Europe and people travelling with their pets needing obtain an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) which must be issued by a vet within 10 days of going abroad.

These AHCs cannot be filled out by any vet, the vet must have taken further qualifications to become an Official Veterinarian (OV).

I alluded to the fact that this new post-Brexit world is a pain for both owners and vets.

Poor pet owners must get a new AHC every time they go overseas, whereas with the old passports you could travel as frequently as you wanted.

Obviously, there is a cost incurred for pet owners every time they are issued with an AHC, quite simply we vets must charge properly for these documents to reflect the time they take to do – and believe me they take time.

These forms are not just one page that you sign and stamp; these are nine-page documents with photocopied evidence attachments. We must verify, fill in, sign, counter sign and stamp page after page. I have completed a number of AHCs now, but however efficient you are they are laborious and time consuming.

Time spent on an AHC is time you are not spending with sick animals, so in a profession already working our socks off with the increase in pet ownership we are feeling stretched.

I know local practices that are no longer offering to do AHCs as they simply do not have the veterinary manpower.

So, if you are thinking of taking your pet overseas this summer, please plan ahead, find out exactly what you need to do, and do not be surprised that your vet will charge you to fill in an AHC.

Alice Moore is a vet at Castle Veterinary Clinic, Dorchester and Weymouth. Tel 01305 267083