Auf Weidersehen Pets? Brussels 'Eurocats' Threatening Post-Brexit Pet Rights

In all, 250,000 cats and dogs are taken to the EU on holiday by their UK owners every year, according to European Commission figures. The Eurostar is a particularly popular method of transportation, with over a million dogs traveling to the continent via that route since 2012. Animals are able to easily nip across the channel due to the PETS scheme, or Pet Passport, which details their microchip number and relevant vaccinations and treatments.

While initially a UK initiative, the EU adopted the scheme as its own between 2012 and 2014, rolling it out across Member States — and if Brexit negotiations aren't successful, the British animals holidaying or residing in Europe could face protracted imprisonment and quarantine in European pet jails. Despite the UK scoring highly in international rankings of pet ownership, the issue elicited little recognition before or during the referendum campaign.

European Commission Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier has said the consequences of a nuclear "no deal" scenario could be catastrophic for British citizens, necessitating "reintroduction of customs controls, long queues at Dover, supply shortages and air traffic disruption." While Barnier didn't specifically mention pets, the fresh imposition of old travel and immigration measures for the UK could well extend to pets too.

In a video statement, Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson Alexander Winterstein said the fate of dogs and cats and their free movement were "obviously of the utmost importance" for both the Commission and the wider EU.

One possible solution to the potential hazard could be to arrange a deal where UK pet passports and EU pet passports are considered equivalent by regulators. While freedom of movement for people is almost certainly going to be lost due to Brexit, the same may not be true for animals.

Brexit negotiations are forecast to conclude in October 2018, meaning the UK and EU have 18 months as of April 2017 to secure the rights and freedoms of Britons' furry friends. Despite Winterstein's assurances, the pair have much bigger fish to fry — although the issue of pet passporting is symptomatic to the voluminous myriad of relatively minor but substantively significant aspects of the UK's post-Brexit relationship with the continent.

Nonetheless, some see the prospect of Britain leaving the EU as a potentially positive opportunity for animals.

The UK's Dogs Trust, a founding member of the EU Dog & Cat Alliance, has published a study suggesting the PETS scheme significantly boosted illegal puppy smuggling from Central and Eastern Europe into Britain. The number of dogs traveling under PETS to the UK from Lithuania increased by 780 percent between 2011 and 2013, and many of the poor pooches will be 15 weeks old or younger.

Moreover, unscrupulous breeders and dealers falsify pets' documentation, knowing most staff checking on a border will be unable to tell the difference between a nine-week-old puppy and one of legal export age. Most dangerously, this allows importers to falsify rabies documentation for animals originating in epidemic countries, as the vaccine is ineffective on puppies under 12 weeks old.

"Britain's decision to exit the EU presents a crucial opportunity to amend the legislation governing pet travel and disease control, whilst helping to prevent the illegal importation of puppies in the UK. Our recommendations are in line with the rules that applied before the changes to PETS were introduced, meaning dog and cat owners can still enjoy traveling abroad with their pets, and all pet owners currently compliant with the rules won't be impacted by the enforcement recommendations," the Trust said in a statement.