Animal Express

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Animal Express

European live animal transport by road
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A DAFM (Rep of Ireland) and DEFRA (UK) licensed 'Type-2' animal transporter established 2012 as part of an existing specialist road transport business, operating throughout Western Europe.

18/08/2026

Somehow, somewhere, I remember this happy arrival some place in the north, sometime around 2023 ?? Can anyone help me remember ?

13/08/2026

And so the day has arrived to open the champagne! Sarah and I have waited to enjoy all the very special gifts given to us by Amigos Mios upon our last trip to Sweden with so many rescue dogs. Why?...because today we celebrate 10 years of married bliss. So, great big kisses, hugs and thank-you's to all our Swedish and Spanish friends that make up such a worthwhile rescuing family. Thank-you for your profesionalism, support and understanding when we were so picky. We toast you all, and think of you every day. Dan+Sarah

05/06/2026

The European Union's Road Transport-Posting Declaration (RTPD) system is adding a mandatory 'vehicle management' requirement from next month. From 1 July 2026, all operators of light commercial vehicles (2.5–3.5 tonnes) must submit posting declarations when operating internationally. This applies to all vehicles in-scope of EU and GB Community (O-Licence) rules, ie: all but the very smallest of car-derived vans (eg: the Ford Courier). It also ties-in enforcement of the new tachograph rules (also going live 1 July) under the Mobility Package..
A training webpage has been made available here: https://www.postingdeclaration-training.eu/landing covering both the existing 'driver' and new 'vehicle' sections, though the full vehicle system will not go live until late June. Further advice is available via email at the address below in the latest notification now going out to industry.
As with driver declarations, copies must be carried on the vehicle for inspection at the roadside.

RTPD Portal – New feature for vehicle management coming soon
Dear RTPD portal user,
From 1 July 2026, new EU rules will require operators of light commercial vehicles (2.5–3.5 tonnes) to submit posting declarations when operating internationally. In light of this event, we have updated the RTPD portal with a new vehicle management feature, that will be made available by the end of June.
Here is what is changing and what you need to do.
A NEW VEHICLE SECTION IN YOUR PORTAL
A Vehicle section will appear in the left-hand menu of your portal, next to the existing Driver section. From there, you can register, edit and remove vehicles from your fleet. Adding a vehicle only requires three pieces of information: country of registration, licence plate number, and vehicle type (light or heavy, goods or passengers).
Once your fleet is registered, you can select vehicles directly when submitting a declaration - no more copy and pasting or typing plate numbers each time.
IMPORTANT
Declarations created before the go-live of this new vehicle management process remain valid and do not require any specific action. However, any update performed on the existing declarations will require using plate numbers from the new vehicle section.
GET YOUR FLEET READY
Please note that with this new section vehicles must now be registered in the vehicle section before they can be used in a declaration. However, we have prepared a bulk upload tool, so you can upload your entire fleet in one go: simply download the Excel template below, fill in your fleet details. You will be able to import the file into the portal when the feature goes live.
Download the Excel template: [LINK]
Want to try the new feature before it goes live? You can access to our test environment here: [LINK]

We are available for any questions at:
[email protected]

Best regards,
RTPD Support Team
European Commission

02/06/2026

As some already know June heralds the end of Animal Express' road operations. Not that we are going away, just ending our own physical transport. After nearly 14years, some 1.5million kilometres (926,000miles) travelled, and countless dogs, cats, ferrets, mice, parrots, tortoises, chinchillas, rabbits and assorted poultry safely delivered, all good things must come to an end. During that time we have ranged from Sweden in the north to Gibraltar in the south, and from Ireland in the west to Cyprus in the east. We have also been to the Canary Islands once repatriating 28 cats in one go, and overseen the flights and onward delivery of dogs from Australia and to/from several points in between. Commercial and Non-Commercial movements, even authorised to operate non-stop throughout Covid, we have done it all. This puts us in a good position to move to our next step... Having previously operated big trucks hauling specialist cargo in Europe since 2005 we never really stopped being a source of expert and specialist transport knowledge. Indeed, Dan has been a legally qualified Transport Manager and consultant since 1980. That brings us to www.CoughlanAdvisory.eu and a wealth of knowledge and experience now available to all. Be it advice, training, authority compliance or expert witness help you need, we are here for you and, of course, all the animals. Our Best to all friends, customers and colleagues for the future. Dan & Sarah Coughlan

25/04/2026

With 10 adopted Spanish rescue today safely home in Sweden, this run is done. A big Well Done! to all at Amigos Mios for another great job.

24/04/2026

All tails are up as we cross Danmark and enjoy afternoon walks before dinner. We will stop close to Odense tonight. Then just one more doggy sleep before our expected on-time arrivals tomorrow.

23/04/2026

Milo and Tara out enjoying the sun this morning. All is well with our 10 Amigos making their way north, now just north of Lyon, France. Tonight we will make Luxembourg for dinner and a good rest. See you soon

21/04/2026

"Fog in Channel...Europe isolated"

This Victorian headline from The Times newspaper of London is as relevant today as ever, clearly!

First appears a Defra/APHA veterinary guidance note massively, and very obviously, misrepresenting an EU edict effective, 22 April, merely formalising what was always intended post Brexit...that, henceforth, EU vets should not issue Pet Passports to British, Russian, Chinese or any other "third country" human not "resident."

Meanwhile, the irresponsible reproduction of a single scanned document went viral, as they say. Result: even more uninformed spreading of misinformation. The blind quickly led the blind, all without bothering to check. Those that did claim they would check with the Animal & Plant Health Authority quickly backtracked. Why?

The edict in question is an EU one...nothing to do with Great Britain. Brilliant! To make matters worse Britain's GOV.UK website then compounded the problem, repeating APHA's mistake. Result: yet more blind mice.

Anyone who knew and able to Google the EU quickly spotted the truth: that APHA was once again performing as its usual ignorant, incompetent self. Even the likes of Eurotunnel and the ferry firms quickly distanced themselves from APHA suggestions every existing EU Pet Passport held by a British resident was suddenly invalid.

Bottom line: As a non-resident it is simply now formalised from 22 April you cannot obtain an EU Pet Passport. Whether any EU vet will update a rabies vaccination or add a tapeworm treatment for a non-resident is yet to be seen.

The EU's original document confirms existing Pet Passports remain valid, another fact APHA failed to understand.

And the sooner the blind quit leading the blind the better.

And if you need to worry about something, try thinking about the combined EU pre-travel notification system now being put together for 2028.

Address

Victory House, 400 Pavilion Drive
Northampton
NN47PA

Website

http://animalexpress.org/

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