Regulation (EC) no 998/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the animal health requirements applicable to the non-commercial movement of pet animals and amending Council Directive 92/65/EEC establishes a list of animal species to which harmonised animal health requirements apply when animals of those species are kept as pet animals and moved for non-commercial purposes.

This list takes account of their susceptibility to or role in the epidemiology of rabies. Dogs, cats and ferrets are animals of species susceptible to rabies and are listed in Parts A and B of Annex I to Regulation (EC) no 998/2003 .

To move a dog, cat or ferret as a pet animal under the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) no 998/2003 , the owner must prove that the animal meets the following criteria:

(a) animal of one of the species listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) no 998/2003 ;

(b) the movement of the animal must be triggered by the need of the owner to move;

(c) the animal must not be intended to be sold or transferred to another owner in the context of the regulated movement.

In the absence of compliance with one of the aforementioned criteria, the movement of a dog, cat or ferret falls under Council Directive 92/65/EEC laying down inter alia the animal health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Union of those animals.

Regulation (EC) no 998/2003 applies to the movement of pet animals between Member States or from third countries. It does not apply to the movement of such animals within one Member State.

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