One look at the hungry cat on the street or the neglected puppy in the park in a big Mediterranean city is enough to pull at the heart strings. Holiday-makers sometimes get carried away with impulse buys when they see dogs cooped up in tiny cages at markets. But what happens then? The vets from specialty chain Fressnapf advise against bringing home this type of souvenir.

One look at the hungry cat on the street or the neglected puppy in the park in a big Mediterranean city is enough to pull at the heart strings. Holiday-makers sometimes get carried away with impulse buys when they see dogs cooped up in tiny cages at markets. But what happens then? The vets from specialty chain Fressnapf advise against bringing home this type of souvenir.

People that come across an animal that is obviously in misery while on holiday are often torn between what to do. They would like to help, but don’t know how. It can happen that in their uncertainty, they decide to take the animal home with them. But this is neither easy nor safe.

Stray animals often have parasites, infections or chronic diseases. Leishmaniasis, for example, can also be fatal for humans and is difficult to detect in dogs before it has broken out. The animal can spread the parasite back home if you import it. Ticks or rabies can also cross borders unchecked in this way. This is why there are strict entry requirements for animals from EU and non-EU countries, especially as far as rabies is concerned. These represent expensive and often insurmountable hurdles for spontaneous holiday-makers. In the worst case scenario, the animal is confiscated by customs and lands in quarantine, an animal shelter or back in their home country. Here are the entry requirements at a glance:

From EU countries: Dogs, cats and ferrets may only enter if they are chipped or tattooed and immunised against rabies. They need an EU pet passport to confirm this. Pets must have been immunised against rabies at least 21 days ago (for the first vaccination) and may not have exceeded the validity period specified by the vaccine manufacturer.

From non-EU countries: Animals from "listed" third countries with a rabies-free status are treated like animals from EU countries. If you want to import animals form non-listed countries such as Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt or the Dominican Republic, these must be tagged and have a rabies vaccination certificate. A blood test is also mandatory, requiring a period of several weeks.

You can find further information online at www.bundestieraerztekammer.de .

Help locally!
Animal-loving tourists should ideally look for supporters in their holiday destination. You could contact your hotel management, for example, to find a solution together. Or, contact a local animal welfare association and support them with a donation. You can also go through co-operating animal shelters in the UK. A list of international animal welfare associations is available at www.tierschutzbund.de/166.html
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Strays on holiday Although abandoned or stray animals at your holiday destination might pull at the heart strings, simply taking them home with you is neither simple nor safe. Photo: Maxi Zoo/Ulrike Schanz (Photos may only be reproduced with permission and in connection with editorial text. High-resolution photos can be requested from the Fressnapf press office.)