From Peter Harrison, Petcare, Malaga, Spain
Of course 84 per cent of the British public backs quarantine (“Britain pussyfoots on pet passports”, 3 June). Brainwashed by posters of rabid animals foaming at the mouth and the possibility, however remote, of their beloved pet being exposed to the dreadful disease of rabies, of course they vote against abolition. Who can blame them?
What is not explained in your excellent article on rabies is that far from keeping rabies out of Britain, the present archaic regulations actually increase the chances of an outbreak.
Present regulations are immensely stressful to owners, especially elderly people whose sole companion is their pet. Wanting to return to Britain in their later years they face six months’ separation from their loved animal, worrying about how the pet will fare in a place of incarceration, where not even the RSPCA is able to inspect. The pet they get back after six months may be totally different in character. Many elderly owners simply do not have the necessary finance to fund quarantine.
So what do these desperate owners do? They look for and find illegal ways of getting their pets into Britain. In a recent BBC television programme in which I took part, an owner from the Costa del Sol told how easy it was for her to take her dog illegally into Britain.
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There are many professional smugglers who will transport animals into Britain. One reputable dog magazine estimates that up to 10 000 animals a year enter illegally. Quarantine is a hopelessly outdated method of combating rabies. Introduced in the year that Queen Victoria died, it may have been the best system available then because potentially rabid dogs were imported from the Empire. Technology, especially medicine and veterinary science, has progressed by leaps and bounds since 1901. Should we not use that technology to combat a disease we all fear?
Many people are making good money out of quarantine. Perhaps here lies the real reason for keeping it.
