UK & EU Adoptions

This is designed for the UK/EU adopters. As for the UK ICN – LHR, from Incheon/Seoul international airport to Heathrow airport, it takes 12 hours. We have used Korean Air KE907 flying direct from Incheon/Seoul to London arriving at around 5 pm UK time.

There is an animal quarantine service company for the dogs flying to EU. They are former vet officials worked at the airport quarantine office. They offer services such as blood tests for anti body, microchip and all the paper works required by EU/UK standards.They come to our shelter and take the blood to be sent to the national lab for its anti body test. It normally takes 90 days for your dog to be able to fly. Please use this email addressed to Dr.Jung for more details: nalazoo2018@gmail.com. They charge you US$400-500 for the service.

This link by UK government is very useful to those potential homes. http://ahvla.defra.gov.uk/

The whole process starting at our shelter will take a MINIMUM of 16 weeks, some factors may cause delays, for instance if the blood sample does not show sufficient levels of the rabies vaccine. It has to be above 0.5 IU/ml

1. MICROCHIP- First, the dog will be microchipped with an internationally recognized (ISO 11784/11785 compliant) chip. This step must be completed before the rabies vaccination as the microchip will be a record of the date of the vaccination.

2. RABIES VACCINATION- Once the microchip has been inserted, the vet can now vaccinate the dogs against rabies. The date of the rabies vaccination for antibody test is the most important and can affect the travel plans.

3. WAIT 30 DAYS- According to UK government guidelines: “for animals coming from non-listed Third Countries, the blood sample must have been taken at least 30 days after the date of the rabies vaccination where day of vaccination is day 0”.

4. BLOOD TEST- After 30 days, the vet will take a blood to be sent to government lab for test which is an UK/ EU approved lab. “You must check that the laboratory used to test the blood sample is on the list of approved laboratories.” IT REQUIRES 90 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE BLOOD SAMPLE WAS TAKEN TO Fly out.

5. RESULTS- Results should come back and be delivered to the vet in about 1-2 weeks. Assuming that the test comes back positive (i.e. there is enough of the rabies antibody in the dog’s system, 0.5IU/ml), ONLY then can we look into booking a flight for the dog. IF, however, the test comes back negative (i.e. there are insufficient levels of the antibody/rabies vaccine in your pet’s blood) we will need to repeat steps again.

6. BOOK FLIGHT- The flight booked will need to be “at least 90 DAYS/three calendar months between the date of the blood sampling and the date of entry into UK”. This means the flight must be no sooner than 3 months after the date the blood sample was taken.

7. COMPLETE ‘EU CERTIFICATE – View Document This is a 9 page EU certificate document that will need to be filled out by the vet, the quarantine office, and customs officials. For now, we just fill in page 1, using you as BOTH the consignee and the consignor. The consignor will be our address in Korea; the consignee will be your address in UK/EU. Make sure that ALL details on this form match up with the microchip AND the rabies test certificate.

8. VACCINATION & HEALTH CERTIFICATE- We will also need a vaccination & health certificate from the vet confirming that your dog has been vaccinated by them, a written confirmation of the dog’s details and specific information about the vaccines given, signed by the vet.

9. TAPEWORM TREATMENT & CERTIFICATE- It is a requirement for pets to be treated against tapeworm in a very specific time period. “The treatment must have been administered in the 24hr – 120hr window prior to the expected arrival in UK. The tapeworm treatment can be certified by any registered veterinarian.” This means the dog must be sent within 5 days after treatment is given in Korea. A health certificate is also required from the vet confirming that the dog has received the tapeworm treatment.

10. QUARANTINE CERTIFICATE- An animal cannot leave Korea without obtaining a Quarantine Certificate, which is shown to the airline at check-in. This states that the dog is permitted by Korean Quarantine to leave the country and that the dog is fit to fly. This is done the day before the flight at Incheon international airport or regional offices.

11. ARRIVAL IN UK- It can take up to two and a half hours to complete the checks at Heathrow Animal Reception Centre. After receiving the dog, book an appointment with your vet. Your dog needs to be checked by a UK based vet and any top up vaccines need to be administered. You must also change the registration of the chip to a UK based register.

NOTE: Unfortunately, no couriers, no flight volunteers can fly directly to the UK due to quarantine restrictions. To have the dog(s) fly directly into the UK we MUST send the dog as manifest cargo. Your dog will be treated as cargo and you will need to collect your dog at Heathrow Animal Reception Centre after the customs clearance by your broker.