I am Hannah, an animal welfare advocate working for a large UK animal rescue charity, and I am urgently calling on the UK Government to create an Emergency Pet Evacuation Protocol because no one fleeing danger should be forced to leave their animal behind.

I lived and worked in Dubai for eight years. During that time, I cared for abandoned cats on the streets, feeding them, arranging medical treatment, and trying to give them some level of safety. Many of the animals I cared for had not always been strays. They had been left behind, including my little cat Tofu. He was abandoned and left with life-changing injuries, which have left him disabled. He now lives with me, recovering in the UK, but many others do not often make it.

When I returned to the UK, I brought my own two pets, Button, my Toy Poodle, and Tofu, my rescue cat, home safely. But I was only able to do this by travelling through Paris, because UK rules require pets to enter as manifest cargo rather than allowing them to travel more simply, as checked baggage, as they can within mainland Europe.

With enough time and planning, it is possible to bring pets back to the UK. But in times of crisis such as war, emergency evacuations, or rapidly changing situations, people do not have that time.

Right now, UK policy does not allow pets to travel on evacuation flights. This forces British families into an impossible choice. Leave their animals behind or risk their own safety.

Even outside of evacuations, the system creates barriers. The requirement for manifest cargo adds cost, complexity, and delay at exactly the moment people can least afford it. The cost to bring pets as cargo jumps to at least £2000.

We are seeing the consequences of the current conflict in the Middle East. Rescue groups in crisis-affected regions are overwhelmed. Animals are being abandoned not out of neglect but because people feel that they have no other option.

Pets are not luggage; they are family!

Other countries have already recognised this. During the 2022 Ukraine crisis, emergency measures allowed people to travel with their animals, with checks completed after arrival.

The UK can and must do the same.

I am calling for an Emergency Pet Evacuation Protocol that allows pets to travel with their owners, with:

• veterinary checks conducted on arrival
• temporary quarantine where necessary
• documentation completed post-entry
• pets permitted to travel alongside owners on evacuation or commercial routes

This is a practical, easily implemented, and it is humane. It is urgently needed. No one should have to choose between their life and their animal.