Pets in North Cyprus

Oh me oh my, this is a complicated subject! Bringing a pet to Northern Cyprus is fairly complicated but no where near as complicated as exporting your pet from North Cyprus, and owning an animal here brings up even more complications!

So, here is the About North Cyprus guide to pets in North Cyprus that should, we hope, assist you if you’re thinking of moving to live here permanently and either considering bringing your pets with you, or adopting a dog or a cat when you get here.

Bringing Your Pet to North Cyprus

This is assuming that you’re coming from the UK...you have to have an ‘export health certificate’ which you can get from DEFRA UK, your animal has to have been micro chipped, had a rabies vaccination not longer than 12 months prior to traveling and have passed its subsequent blood test, then you need your import license for North Cyprus and 48 hours before your pet flies over you have to have a vet check the animal out so that the airline have proof they are fit to fly.

At the moment only Turkish Airlines fly with planes that have a pressurized cargo hold in which animals can be transported so you have to arrange travel on an appropriate flight to Ercan. When you arrive your animal will have to go into quarantine in North Nicosia for between three and four weeks. You will need to pay for this, supply food and regularly (daily) check your animal to make sure it is being fed and watered, to exercise it within the compound and also to clean out its sleeping quarters.

The costs for all of this aren’t too exorbitant but they can mount up and you really must get everything organized in a timely fashion before you move to Northern Cyprus otherwise you could be on a plane before your dog has even had its rabies vaccination! Speak to your local vet about getting everything done in the right order and also consult the fantastic volunteers at Kyrenia Animal Rescue (KAR) here in Northern Cyprus who are bang up to date with all the latest changes and developments in legislation relating to animal transportation.

If you take your pet out of Northern Cyprus for any reason know that it will have to serve another 3 or 4 weeks quarantine when you return.

Taking Your Pet across the Green Line

For some bizarre reason it is illegal to take an animal across from South to North or North to South. Even if your pet is in the Pet Travel Scheme, it has a pet passport and can travel round Europe it cannot go from the North to the South even though South Cyprus is now in the EU. And even if your animal has all of its permissions in order for the TRNC it cannot come across the green line from the South into the North. This has something to do with the unique no go, no man’s land situation on the Green Line we believe, and it is also something that many people are campaigning against.

Taking Your Pet Out of North Cyprus

If you want to take Fido or Tiddles (sorry!) out of Northern Cyprus and back to the UK they will be subjected to 6 months quarantine. Yup, you heard right - and that’s nothing to do with TRNC rules that’s all down to the lovely British Government who were happily accepting all pets from North Cyprus that were properly vaccinated and chipped without need for quarantine until last year when they suddenly changed the rules.

If you want to take your pet out into Europe and your animal has the appropriate certification and pet passport etc., it has been done but the rules are a bit of a grey area and you should speak to KAR before attempting anything.

Owning a Pet in Northern Cyprus

There are a couple of dangers that you should be aware of particularly if you have a dog in North Cyprus. Some cruel and thoughtless people put down poisoned meat here in an attempt to get rid of stray animals...this poison is very fast acting and if your dog happens upon some and ingests it he or she will most likely die. There is no telling where poisoned meat will be found as there was a case the other week in the Cyprus Today newspaper where a pet dog was out for a walk and picked something up from the middle of the road. Sadly he died a short while later despite a mercy dash to the vets.

To guard against this is tricky. Personal suggestions include muzzling your dog when you take him out so that he can’t pick up anything he shouldn’t - but some people say this is cruel. Another suggestion is teaching your puppy from a very young age not to eat anything other than what he finds in his bowl. You can do this by laying tasty bits of meat about the place that have been laced with spicy pepper and that will upset your animal for a bit if he eats it and make him increasingly unlikely to pick up anything off the side of the road.

The other danger is snakes. Snakes don’t attack but it your dog is happily sniffing away and accidentally unearths one he may well be bitten. Some snake bites come without venom, some come with venom that will kill within a couple of hours. Your best bet is to carry something like cortisone (PLEASE check with your vet first before doing ANYTHING) which you can quickly give to your dog to keep it calm and then rush it to the vet for them to see whether venom was administered and if it was they will give your animal the antidote.

Vets

There are some fantastic vets here in TRNC some useful phone numbers for you are: -

The Veterinary Hospital - +90 392 815 3430
The Veterinary Service - +90 392 815 8084
Firdiz a lady vet - +90 533 866 3806
Pertev a gentleman vet - +90 533 875 4372 or +90 533 863 5818

Kennels and Catteries

There are a number of centers offering short term boarding options for your animals and also some people who do house sitting services and who will look after your animal if you’re away for a short time.

KAR have details of all services offered and they can be contacted at or on +90 392 815 3390 or you can call the Lapta Dog and Cat Hotel on +90 392 821 2395