International trips with dogs no longer illegal

Millions of dog owners the world over can breathe a sigh of relief now that transporting their undocumented pooches across a national border is no longer a crime.

Due to a mix-up over species names, international travel with Fido or Rover - absent a certificate of origin and an export permit - was technically illegal until the UN body overseeing commerce in wildlife set things right earlier this month.

Blame it on the Grey Wolf, aka Canis lupus, covered since 1997 by Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). Appendix II requires countries to track exports of a given species, and to demonstrate that any hunting or harvesting is done in a sustainable manner.

Recently reclassified as a sub-species of C. lupus, the domesticated dog - along with the Australian dingo - were in a single stroke subject to the same regulations protecting the wolf.

"Because scientists are constantly changing the nomenclature and taxonomy, the dingo and the normal dog - my beagle, for example - were suddenly a Cites species," explained the UN body's outgoing secretary-general, Willem Wijnstekers.

The unintended ban on cross-border travel with household canines was never enforced.

But at least now dog owners can bring their four-footed friends along without trafficking in contraband.