Ferrets face EU travel ban
Ferrets face a ban on European travel after MEPs voted not to give them passports.
The crackdown has been condemned by furious ferret owners as discrimination against a creature which is seen by some as a domestic pet just like a hamster, rabbit, guinea-pig, cat or dog.
Pet passports are effectively a certificate of good health, allowing many domestic animals to by-pass the usual lengthy quarantine period when crossing borders, particularly when entering the UK from the continent.
But MEPs say that until reliable tests are developed to establish that ferrets are rabies-free, they should not be granted the freedom to travel around Europe.
Chris Davies, the Liberal-Democrat MEP for North West of England and a member of the European Parliament’s environment and public health committee, said: ‘‘We don’t want to risk opening the floodgates to hordes of foreign ferrets.
‘‘Our top priority is to maintain strict controls across the EU against the spread of rabies.’’
The committee voted against ferrets after arguing about whether they could be classified as household pets for the purposes of the EU’s ‘‘passports for pets’’ scheme.
Mr Davies was even questioned about reports reaching mainland Europe that British men hold competitions which involve putting the carnivorous creatures down their trouser legs.
‘‘There was some discussion about this, and there was even a suggestion that this kind of thing is very big in Belgium, but our Belgian colleagues said they had never heard of it,’’ said Mr Davies.
The European Commission had put ferrets on its proposed list of approved pets, but the committee decided they still posed too high a risk of carrying rabies.
‘‘One problem is that, unlike rabbits and hamsters and guinea pigs, ferrets are not vegetarian, and they are more likely to spread rabies,’’ said Mr Davies.
‘‘We also took account of the fact that even though ferrets can be vaccinated against rabies, no blood test has yet been developed which can demonstrate that they are rabies-free. This is an unacceptable risk.’’
New anti-rabies vaccines have cut the number of cases of rabies amongst cats and dogs across the EU from 499 in 1991 to just five in 1998.
‘‘The committee heard one account of a French ferret which was found in a chicken run in France a couple of years ago with rabies.
‘‘Although ferrets are not known to be great international travellers, we have decided to be cautious and refuse to grant them passports,’’ explained Mr Davies.
He said the war against rabies was being won and described the decision not to extend the passport scheme to ferrets as ‘‘sensible’’.
The decision will go to the full European Parliament in Strasbourg for final approval next month.
