>Now I'm not recommending this, but I have heard that a lot of people
>smuggle their beloved pets back into Britain by flying or driving to
>France and then crossing the channel in a car by ferry or driving thru the
>chunnel.  Essentially they are pulling a "California" and are hiding their
>pets in their cars and playing the radio loudly.  I recently read of a
>family that successfully smuggled their shepherds back in by sedating them
>and putting them into the trunk of the car till they had crossed.
 
I'm sorry Shelly, please don't take this as a personal attack............
but this sort of behaviour just makes me see red!  We have quarantine over
here for a good reason and this sort of irresponsible behaviour puts people
and animals' lives in danger.  I don't know whether rabies is prevelant in
Brazil, but even so people should not be encouraged to try and
circumnavigate quarantine.  If I found out that any of my friends or
neighbours had smuggled their pets through customs I would have absolutely
no qualms about reporting them.
 
I heard last week of a confirmed case of a horse in the US, with rabies
from one of my hunting cronies, so it's not just carnivores that are
affected.  We are such a closely packed little island that rabies would
spread through us like wildfire and it is such a horrific disease.  We
don't have rabies shots over here ( coz there's no rabies!) so our pets
would be as much at risk as wild animals.
 
The lifting of quarantine is much exaggerated.....maybe one day, but not
before the millenium.  There are several sites you can find out exactly
what the Govt.  are dragging their feet over about it, if you wish.
Personally I feel that feerets would be less affected by 6 months in
quarantine, than a dog.....as long as they had someone giving them some
attention, I think they would be fine in a good kennels.  I agree with
Ulrike, the best thing would be to let them stay where they are till their
owners come back to the UK.  They're settled where they are now and to put
them through all that upheaval because their owners miss them just isn't
fair.  Consider the animals' first............in both scenarios!
 
K.
 
(sorry to give a lecture, but I AM really concerned about this matter)
[Posted in FML issue 2499]