There’s no need to worry about what you should do with your beloved pets when you make your permanent move to Turkey. Whilst the country is not part of the EU PETS scheme, it is still easy to take your best furry friends with you. All you have to do is leave plenty of time when planning your pets departure and follow the rules listed below and pretty soon Rex will be running wild on the beaches of the Aegean coast, whilst Fluffy basks in the warm sunshine.Animal Life in Turkey
In traditional Turkish families, animals are regarded as solely as work animals; dogs are for guarding property, cats for controlling vermin. Animals are not allowed into the house and many are free to wander the streets. If you live in a small village, then expect there to be some incredulity at the way you pamper your pets. Times are changing especially in the cities where Turkish people do have pets in their home. There has also been a growth in the number of pet shops, dog training centres, pet hotels, animal hospitals and vets’ clinics with at least one in every town.The Restrictions on Animals Coming into Turkey
When Turkey becomes an EU member these rules will change to fall in line with the PETS scheme, however until then, these are the rules you must observe when bringing a dog or a cat into the country:
You can only bring one cat, one dog, one bird or 10 aquarium fish into the country unless you have an animal import licence. You dog must have had jabs for rabies, parva, distemper, hepatitis and leptospiroz. Your cat must have a rabies vaccination. Rabies is not common in Turkey, but injections are given in two doses, two to four weeks apart. A blood sample has to be taken a month later and sent to a lab to confirm the vaccine has worked.
Injections on both pets must be carried out no more than 6 months and no less than 15 days before you leave. You will be required to show an essential official certificate to the duty vet on entry into Turkey and to obtain this you will need a Certificate of Origin from the British Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries or by the British Foreign Office, which details the health record of each pet – you just need to show them your pet passport to obtain this and they also need to stamp all of your other pet documents, and a Veterinary Health Certificate, which your vet can issue within 10 days of your intended departure date, which also confirms that your pet is more than three months old. Give these certificates to the official vet on duty once you’ve landed in Turkey.
Returning to the UK or Ireland with Pets
Bringing your pet back into the UK is not quite so simple. If you decide to return back home and want to take your pets with you then you need to apply for a Certificate of Origin known as a Mense Belgesi from your Mayor’s Office, which must confirm that there is no rabies or other epidemic in the area where you lived.
Your pet will also have to be vaccinated against rabies and again you will have to allow a month thereafter for the test to come back from the lab confirming that it has taken. Turkey is not an approved-country for the import of animals, so your pet would have to go into quarantine for six months on arrival in the UK.
Pet Carriers
You can ship your pets with registered carriers or companies specialising in pet relocation, but this will not exempt your pet from quarantine in the UK. Pet carriers have rules about the size of the cage your animal needs to travel comfortably and basically this has to be a cage, where the pet can stand up fully with some room to spare and with a facility for water – if you are shipping your pet Rottweiler this would require quite a large cage. You can just drive you pet in the family car into Turkey providing you have the right documentation.
