stringent quarantine laws relating to pets are set for radical changes earlier than originally planned.

A one-year pilot programme which allows pets entering Britain to skip the existing mandatory six-month stay in a kennel kicks into gear on February 28.

The news that the scheme -- which was due to come into effect in April originally -- would be enacted sooner, came from the UK government's junior Agriculture Minister Baroness Hayman.

"We have pressed ahead with this scheme because we know many people are eagerly waiting to be able to use it,'' she said.

The UK has strict quarantine regulations in place to stop animals infected with rabies from entering the country and spreading the disease.

But in recent years the UK has been under pressure to ease the quarantine laws due to the cost of the exercise -- which can be as much as $3,200 -- and the stress the animal and owner experience.

The new rules will only apply to pets travelling through Dover and Portsmouth ferry ports, Heathrow airport and through the Channel Tunnel initially.

But if this proves successful and rabies is kept out of Britain, the scheme will be extended, the government said.

Owners will need to bring veterinary certificates to show their pet meets certain conditions allowing it to travel freely to and from European Union countries, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland when they bring their pets into Britain.