North America advances on pet passport waiting list

London-Britain is considering lifting a six-month quarantine on pets arriving from the United States and Canada - in part under pressure from pet-loving diplomats.

"We have been discussing it with the American embassy, but we don'tknow how long it's going to be," a spokeswoman for the Department forEnvironment, Food and Rural Affairs, told the Associated Press.

A century-old law requires animals from most countries be quarantinedfor six months upon arrival in rabies-free Britain.

In 2000, the British government debuted a pet passport plan allowingcats and dogs from Western Europe to skip quarantine if pet owners couldverify their identity and rabies-free status.

The plan later added 50 territories including Australia, New Zealand,Japan and Hawaii in the United States.

American officials would like the plan to comprise the remaining 49states as well. U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Karen Morrissey says officialshave met several times with the British.

She says studies suggest there is little risk of rabies or other diseasesbeing transmitted by vaccinated American pets.

More than 40,000 cats and dogs have entered Britain under the passportprogram, which requires pets to be tagged with an identification microchip,vaccinated and blood tested before they travel to Britain.

Rules for American pets would be even tighter, requiring them to be deloused and dewormed and undergo veterinary inspections both before and after arrival.