Island residents waiting to travel with their cats and dogs to the UK saw a little more light at the end of the tunnel recently after British Airways included Bermuda in its test scheme to transport pets.

The latest development is due in no small part to the efforts of animal-lovers, Ann Blyde and Lynn Hill, who have been trying to have Bermuda included in the scheme for more than two years.

British Airways has agreed that once the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAFF) in the UK has approved the existing Animal Reception Centre facility at Gatwick Airport under the new Quarantine regulations, Bermuda will be included as one of the small number of airports used to test the transport of pets under the new scheme.

And although there is no date given for the scheme to start, British Airways is thought to now be preparing its operational and booking procedures.

In the meantime, it is understood that animals in transit through UK airports to other locations overseas are transported as cargo in a special van between airports, from Gatwick to Heathrow for example.

Mrs. Blyde and Mrs. Hill have been pursuing the possibility of pets from Bermuda being similarly shipped to the Animal Clearance Facility at Heathrow for clearance under the quarantine free scheme until Gatwick's facility is approved by MAFF.

An alternative MAFF approved route is to fly via the US to the Animal Clearance Facility at Heathrow.

For islands which are rabies free but do not have direct flights to the UK, MAFF will permit pet transportation for the first part of the journey to be carried out by a non-authorised airline carrier provided the pet is in a sealed container, from Bermuda to the US on to the UK for example.

If necessary, part of the journey may be through rabies infected countries providing certain restrictions on the sealing of the container are maintained and monitored.

Under these circumstances, the six month residency condition -- which says that an animal must have been in the country of departure for six months does not apply.

The last part of the journey into Heathrow would have to be by a carrier approved by MAFF.

MAFF is currently working closely with several airlines to be approved as carriers including Lufthansa, Air New Zealand, Quantas, Iberia, all Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines amongst others.

However, British Airways has not yet agreed to carry Bermuda pets from the US to Heathrow under this plan.

Alternatively, approved airline flights from Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Brussels can fly into Heathrow.

Another airline, British Midland, is already doing so but has a restriction of one pet per plane.

Alternatively, the rest of the journey can be by road or ferry to the UK.

The short stay quarantine option is still valid, that is to put the pet into quarantine and obtain early release by submission of necessary paperwork for the Pet Travel Scheme to MAFF.

And it is believed that the release could be in as little as four to five days, although the charges for collection from the airport by special van, clearance by MAFF, and the cost of the short stay quarantine are likely to be expensive as well as causing additional trauma and distress for the pets and their families.

MAFF is only now starting a consultative exercise for proposed regulations for quarantine kennels to introduce statutory controls and minimum welfare standards for animals quarantined in kennels.

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