In a campaign launched on Tuesday the animal charity is placing a series of hard-hitting advertisements in newspapers and magazines pressing for a 'pet passport' system to be introduced.

Alex Ross, RSPCA: "In this technological age there's no need to lock animals up for six months"

The RSPCA says about 1,000 pets are smuggled into Britain each year by their owners who want them to avoid having to spend six months in quarantine - the cost of which can be thousands of pounds.

They say the law must be changed quickly to stop such smuggling from causing an outbreak of rabies.

The former Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, and artist David Hockney are among famous pet owners who have condemned the existing laws as antiquated and cruel, and pressed for reform.

Pets could be implanted with microchips

When he first returned from Hong Kong, Mr Patten took his Norfolk terriers, Whisky and Soda, to live in France rather than put them through quarantine.

Report recommends change

Professor Ian Kennedy led a group of distinguished health experts who last month recommended that pets from the European Union and other certified rabies-free countries should be able to avoid quarantine.

The Kennedy Committee said pets should carry documents giving a health and vaccination history, undergo blood tests, and have an identification microchip implanted under their skin.

Former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten complained about quarantine for his pets

The government said that although it was "sympathetic" to the report, it would consult the public before introducing a new system.

Now the RSPCA's campaign aims to persuade the government to introduce pet passports well ahead of the stated three-year deadline. "In the meantime there is the continued risk of smuggling from owners who do not want to have their pets locked up in quarantine for six months," it says.

"It is only responsible owners who will abide by the law and ensure their animals are vaccinated."

Government cagey

The Ministry of Agriculture said it was unlikely the new laws would be introduced before 2001.

"We still have to examine the practicalities of how a new system would work. The recommendation was that nothing should happen within three years."

The agriculture ministry spokesman also questioned the RSPCA's figure of 1,000 pets a year evading the existing safeguards.

"The RSPCA number is simply an estimate. It could be nothing, or could even be higher - we simply do not know.

"If any smuggled animals are found, they will be sent back, and their owners could face prosecution."

Quarantine - the facts

• Quarantine laws for animals were introduced to Britain in 1901 following a spate of rabies outbreaks which killed 173 people.
• Since 1973 only one animal in quarantine has been found to have rabies. No one has died from locally contracted rabies in Britain since 1903.
• According to the RSPCA more than 1,200 animals have died in UK quarantine kennels in the last 10 years.
• The RSPCA estimates the new system would be cheaper - cutting costs from around £1,500 to keep a dog in solitary confinement for six months, to an estimated £300-£400.