Pet vaccinations protect pets from fatal diseases. When your pet travels to a different country, vaccination is an essential step in the international pet transport process. Unvaccinated and unhealthy pets pose a serious health risk and are not allowed to travel.
Most countries require pets to be vaccinated against rabies and other common canine and feline diseases before travelling. Different countries have different schedules and pet import regulations. If you are travelling to Serbia with your pet, here’s what the vaccination schedule looks like:
Pet dogs and cats travelling to Serbia from EU member countries and Andorra, Switzerland, Faeroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, and Vatican City State need to be vaccinated against rabies before flying.
The rabies vaccine has to be a registered inactivated vaccine or a recombinant vaccine that is approved by the WHO. The vaccination must be administered 21 days before the date of travel. Pet dogs and cats must also be vaccinated against common feline and canine diseases before travelling to Serbia.
Annex 2 countries are non-European countries that present a low incidence of rabies. They are Ascension Island, United Arab Emirates, Antigua and Barbuda, Republic of Argentina, Australia, Aruba, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Barbados, Bahrain, Bermuda, Belarus, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Falkland Islands, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Mauritius, Mexico, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Singapore, Taiwan, United States of America.
If your pet travels from one of these countries to Serbia, they need to be vaccinated against rabies at least 21 days before the travel date. The rabies vaccine must be WHO-approved and should be either an inactivated vaccine or a recombinant rabies vaccine.
Pet cats and dogs travelling to Serbia from non-listed countries need a rabies titre test before they can travel. A rabies antibody test checks the efficacy of the rabies vaccine by the antibody response of the pet. Sample for the titre test must be drawn at least 30 days after vaccination and sent to an EU-approved laboratory for analysis.
Pets must show a minimum level of 0.5 IU/ml of neutralising antibodies to travel to Serbia. Pets must wait for three months after the test before travelling.
All dogs from non-listed countries must be vaccinated against common canine diseases such as distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza, and parvovirus. Cats must be vaccinated against feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia.
International pet transport is not always straightforward; it differs from country to country, and the rules are constantly changing. A single misstep can cause pet parents a lot of anguish, and your pet may not be allowed to enter the destination country. Therefore, it is recommended that you partner with an experienced pet travel agency that can help make it a stress-free and safe pet travel experience.
Petraveller is one of Australia’s leading pet travel agencies specialising in zero-harm pet transport. Reach out to Petraveller for more information on pet travel to Serbia and a free pet travel quote.