To bring a pet into the Netherlands, as into many other countries, you have to be able to prove that it has been vaccinated against rabies.

On 3 July 2004, the EU member states introduced a new European pet passport for all dogs, cats and ferrets travelling abroad with their owners. This uniform EU document replaces the various pet passports and similar documents used hitherto in the member states. Dogs, cats and ferrets entering the EU or crossing its internal borders are now subject to standard requirements: an EU pet passport, an identification microchip, and a vaccination against rabies. Some European countries also apply additional requirements.

Some other countries apply very strict requirements for the admittance of animals, such as a long period in quarantine. In all countries, if your pet belongs to an officially protected species, you will require a CITES permit.

Since the requirements vary from one country to another, you should obtain information about the country to which you want to travel with your pet from a travel agency, the country’s embassy, and if applicable LASER (the Dutch CITES agency).