Post-Brexit export first

After months of meticulous planning, five precious elite stud males were loaded at Inca Alpaca in Dorset ready for their journey to new homes in Europe, writes Kevin Hamstra, Alpaca Logistics Europe.

The young boys were set to travel to buyers in Finland and Germany. Following Brexit, the UK is considered a ‘third country’ instead of an EU member state. This means all live animals travelling from the UK must be inspected by an official veterinarian at a Border Control Point (BCP) as soon as they enter the EU.

As EU veterinary inspection posts at any of the ports in mainland Europe were not ready to process alpacas no successful exports of alpacas from the UK to mainland Europe had taken place this year – until now.

This group of alpacas had a 12 month quarantine period ahead of them after arrival in Finland and were set to become working studs by summer 2022 so their journey to Finland was time critical.

Waiting for the Rotterdam BCP to open was not a satisfactory option. Calais BCP does not accept alpacas, and is not expecting to add alpacas to their certification anytime soon. Special permission was obtained from the government agency APHA and DAERA (Deprtment of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Ireland,) to use the newly built Border Control Post (BCP) in Rosslare, Ireland. Here we were able to have the alpacas inspected and all paperwork signed off to continue their journey through Europe.

DAERA was very helpful and considerate. The alpacas were unloaded into very clean and spacious stables to get some rest and stretch their legs whilst all paperwork was processed. The official vet performing the border inspection was impressed by how well the alpacas were traveling, how calm they were and gave credit for the thorough preparation of exporter and transporter.

After the stopover in Rosslare, the alpacas were back on the next ferry to the French port of Cherbourg. They crossed the Irish sea and sailed along the Dorset coastline the next morning within 35 miles of the farm where they were loaded exactly 24 hours before!

The boys were happy to be back on land and enjoyed the sunshine at the quarantine station in Holland later that night, where they relaxed for 46 hours before travelling on a ferry from Travemunde to Helsinki. A smooth 32 hour crossing later, the alpacas arrived in Finland at six o’clock Sunday morning to meet their very enthusiastic buyers!

The alpacas travelled really well and arrived in great condition, despite being on the road for nearly a week! I’m proud to have played a part in this as a transporter, but like the Irish vet I must give credit to Tim Hey at Inca Alpaca and the legion of customs and transport agents – it really was a team effort, and everything ran like clockwork.

Note: The Irish route is an option for time-critical exports but costly. The BCP in Hoek van Holland (Rotterdam NL) is likely the first route to open, with a ferry link to Harwich. I’m expecting the first alpacas to be able to pass through by the end of the year. To discuss your export requirements contact me at AlpacaLogistics.EU.