Pets which enter Italy accompanying their owners or those in charge of them from a third country (see link), must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by a veterinary official or authorised by the appropriate Authority in the third country and must be identified by a clearly readable tattoo or by an electronic microchip.

The health certificate must certify that the pet has been vaccinated against rabies and, where necessary, that a second vaccination that is still valid has been administered, also certifying that a titration test (blood test) of the antibodies which neutralise the rabies virus has been conducted at a laboratory recognised by the European Commission with a favourable result (titration equal or superior to 0.50 UI\ml); the blood sample to conduct the laboratory test must be taken from the pet by a veterinarian at least three months prior to its entry into Italy.

Bringing dogs and cats aged less than 3 months and not vaccinated against rabies into Italy is prohibited. No preventive treatment of pets against ticks and echinococcus is required.

Air transport - Almost all airlines permit transport of pets. When booking air travel accompanied by your dog and cat, it is advisable to check whether the flight involves stopovers in transit Countries with changes of airline company or aircraft, both because transfer from one aircraft to another may entail risks to the pets themselves (breakage of the pet carrier and mislaid pets), but above all because pets may be detained in the transit country for health checks or even be held in quarantine. It is therefore advisable to obtain information beforehand not only on the health requirements in the destination country but on those of the transit country too. As far as access on board is concerned, there is no single regulation valid for all airline companies; each company may in fact establish the kind of pet carrier to be used to transport the pet, the number of animals carried in the cabin, whether or not they may be let out of the pet carrier, etc. A certain number of pets are generally permitted to travel in the cabin on each flight: small dogs (weighing less than 10 kg) and cats (some companies accept traditional cat carriers, others require special models). Medium and large-sized dogs on the contrary travel in the pressurised hold in special reinforced crates. Some companies guarantee assistance by specialised personnel, with pet assistance and refreshment centres during stopovers. Canaries and other small pets travel in the cabin in cages.

Rail transport - An anti-rabies vaccination certificate is essential for entry into some EU Countries. Restrictions and different modes of transport are in force depending upon the kind of train taken (Eurostar, Intercity, regional and inter-regional or Wagon-Lit). It is advisable to ask for information from the railway company prior to departure; in any case, dogs, cats, birds, fish and other small pets may travel by train provided that they are kept in special cages, unless specific prohibitions are in force. Small-sized dogs and cats may travel with their owners but only in second class carriages. Large-sized dogs may travel unleashed but only if the whole compartment has been booked (their owners must however pay to disinfest the compartment). They may travel in compartments with other passengers provided that they do not cause a disturbance and are kept on a leash and wearing a muzzle.