International animal welfare organisation FourPaws, the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), CAROdog, CAROcat, and the Representation of the German State of Hesse organised a two-day conference on “Identification, vaccination and movement of dogs and cats in the EU: How to improve the pet passport and traces systems”. 

It was also noticed that the rules related to the pet passport, which were established in the EU in 2012, should be reformed, in order to increase its effectiveness. At present, a pet passport is only required when travelling, while it has been suggested that all companion animals should have one from birth as a lifetime document replacing national health and vaccination booklets, regardless of their movements.

The speakers and members of the audience have therefore asked the European Commission and the Members States to develop specific proposals, in order to address these issues, having in mind that solutions already exist, at low cost and that most issues could be achieved by very simple means.

The conference was organised in relation to the launch of a report entitled "Identification, Vaccination and Movement of dogs and cats in Europe", prepared by the European office of FourPaws, in collaboration with Dr Sven Hüther, Director of Planet ID and ISO expert for Germany.