On 14 September the French Ministry of Agriculture published an interactive nationwide map showing every designated Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Border Control Post (BCP) that handles live animals, products of animal origin and high-risk plants. Although aimed primarily at freight forwarders, the update is equally relevant to multinational companies moving laboratory animals, exhibition horses or food-service supply chains for major events. The map consolidates recent changes triggered by Brexit and the EU’s Animal Health Regulation, highlighting new BCP capacity at Cherbourg, Calais Eurotunnel and Toulouse-Blagnac airport, and clarifying which ports can process composite products such as ready-made sandwiches. Overseas territories are now fully integrated in the database, a boon for relocation specialists shipping pets to Réunion or Guadeloupe. For global mobility teams, the key message is that personnel transfers that involve moving personal pets or sample materials must pre-book inspections at the correct post; spontaneous rerouting can result in animals being held in quarantine or food samples destroyed. The ministry’s site also links directly to appointment-booking portals and lists emergency out-of-hours contacts – information that was previously scattered across multiple prefectural pages. Companies are advised to circulate the link to vendors and to update internal check-lists. Failure to use an authorised BCP can attract fines of up to €15,000 and potential criminal liability for animal-welfare breaches.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture (France)
