United Kingdom pet travel requirements

Signed declaration for a rabbit from the EU

Write a statement that your rabbit isn’t for sale or transfer of ownership, is healthy and able to complete the journey, and was born and bred in captivity. Sign a paper copy and carry it when you travel.

Entry pathway: Rabbit from the EU: signed declaration

No quarantine only if the rabbit has lived in the EU for at least 4 months; otherwise it goes into quarantine.

LeShuttle asks for a vet’s certificate for rabbits, checked by border control; GOV.UK only asks for the declaration, so carry both if you travel that way.

Source: GOV.UK (Defra/APHA) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: GOV.UK (Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Import licence and rabies import licence from APHA

To bring a pet rabbit from outside the EU, get an import licence and a rabies import licence from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (imports@apha.gov.uk) before it travels. The rabbit then spends 4 months in quarantine.

Rabbits · Except when all of these apply: (Departure countries/regions: AT, BE, BG, HR, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES, SE, AX) · Entry pathway: Rabbit: 4 months’ quarantine

Source: GOV.UK (Defra/APHA) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: GOV.UK (Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Book an authorised quarantine carrier and premises, and get a landing licence

Book a quarantine carrier and quarantine premises authorised by Defra. Then ask the premises for the ‘Application for a Licence to Land an Animal for Detention in Quarantine’, fill in part A and send it back. You’ll get a landing licence, a boarding document and a rabies cargo sticker to show the transport company. The carrier meets the pet at the port or airport and takes it to quarantine; you can’t take it there yourself.

Entry pathway: Can’t meet the rules in time: rabies quarantine / Rabbit: 4 months’ quarantine

The pet must arrive at Calais Eurotunnel (for Folkestone), Dover Eastern Docks, Harwich, Hull, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glasgow Prestwick, Leeds Bradford, Gatwick, Heathrow or Manchester.

Source: GOV.UK (Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Crown Dependency rabbit: check origin and quarantine eligibility

GOV.UK's other-pets overview includes rabbits and says no licence or certificates are needed from Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man. The current revised Rabies Importation Order supplies the narrower legal basis: article 4(2)(b)(i) exempts an animal that originates in, and is brought to Great Britain from, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Article 5(2) quarantine applies to animals landed under an article 4(3) licence, so the qualifying origin exemption does not require that licensed quarantine route. Departure from an island alone does not prove eligibility. For a non-trade rabbit previously imported there from elsewhere outside Great Britain, article 4(2)(d) instead requires at least 4 months of quarantine there before onward entry. Article 4(8)-(9) also addresses travel outside the named territories and contact with animals subject to the landing prohibition. Have APHA confirm which route applies if the rabbit's origin, previous importation or contacts are uncertain.

Rabbits · Departure countries/regions: GG, IM, JE

Source: GOV.UK (Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: legislation.gov.uk / The National Archives · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Rabies quarantine from arrival

A dog, cat or ferret stays in quarantine until it meets the pet travel rules, for up to 4 months, or until you send it back; a rabbit stays 4 months. The premises’ vet decides when it can be released. You pay for any medication, and for a longer stay if there’s a rabies risk at the premises.

Entry pathway: Can’t meet the rules in time: rabies quarantine / Rabbit: 4 months’ quarantine

Source: GOV.UK (Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency) · Checked Nov 12, 2026