Heathrow Animal Reception Centre (HARC) reports a 110% increase in its handling of assistance animals since 2021. It now handles an average of five dogs a day at the London hub.
Last year, HARC handled a total of 1,800 assistance animals. The Centre saw a spike in the number of assistance dogs moving through Heathrow during December and January. This was due to passengers travelling to visit their families over the Christmas period.
“Our role has become more complex as the number of assistance dogs travelling through Heathrow has increased,” said assistant director of animal health and welfare at HARC. “It is essential that checks remain consistent, health and welfare compliant, and focused on facilitating access to travel for passengers with assistance dogs.”
Assistance dogs are specially trained to support people with disabilities. This includes guiding visually impaired passengers and alerting people with hearing loss or medical conditions.
HARC is the UK’s only Live Animal Border Control Post designated for all species, one of four in Europe. It has facilities to receive and hold any animal.
Some airlines now assess assistance dog training internally. But HARC continues to carry out assessments and arrival checks for most airlines operating into Heathrow.
The City of London Corporation manages the Centre. The Corporation is responsible for enforcing relevant animal health and welfare legislation for all imported animals into Greater London.
“As part of our responsibilities for animal health and welfare across Greater London, and to support access for all passengers arriving into the UK, we work closely with airlines and Heathrow Airport to manage growing demand and maintain robust arrival checks as assistance dog travel increases,” said Peter Dunphy, chair of the City Corporation’s Port Health and Environmental Services Committee.
