Pet owners frustrated with winter ferry schedule
BBCPet owners in Guernsey say they are frustrated by this year's winter ferry schedule, claiming it is adding hundreds of pounds in extra costs for travel to the UK.
From 1 November, five of the seven weekly Brittany Ferries sailings from Guernsey to the UK will travel via Cherbourg, France.
As the route leaves the Common Travel Area, pet owners are now required to have a valid Animal Health Certificate (AHC), even if they do not intend to disembark in France.
A Brittany Ferries spokesperson said the need for AHC is required by UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and added that pets can still travel without additional paperwork on direct Guernsey-Portsmouth sailings.
Local dog owner Jeanette Brache said the new requirement added extra hurdles for pet owners whose animals compete in events in the UK or abroad.
The AHC is valid for a single entry into the EU and cannot be reused.
Costing about £200 per dog, per trip "it's another added cost, it's added time", Brache said.
Brache has two Finnish Lapphunds who regularly compete in international dog shows, and said the lack of direct sailings and the additional requirements had already put her off competing in two shows.
"Why should we have to do this where two weeks before you could book a ferry and go?"
According to the winter schedule, there are only two direct sailings between Guernsey and Portsmouth, which are scheduled on Monday and Tuesday.
Brache said it was not convenient if they wanted to travel for a weekend competition.
David Chamberlain, States Veterinary Officer, said: "Work is ongoing to explore the possibility of an exemption for those pets remaining on board at Cherbourg to make this journey easier and cheaper for pet owners."
Megan Burns, a qualified clinical canine massage therapist, said the new requirement could also affect animals needing specialist treatment off-island.
She said: "I've had two dogs previously that have both needed to travel to England for their medical issues.
"One was an epileptic dog, he needed an MRI scan, which cannot be provided in Guernsey and the other one had a muscular injury which needed treatment and diagnosis which couldn't be done here."
Burns said it was a widespread issue: "It isn't just dogs, it could be cats, it could be horses... there's hardly anything for horses on the island at the moment. If they need to go to England I don't think they should need the extra expense for that."
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