Is Microchipping A Legal Pet Requirement?

What Is Microchipping?

Why Do Pets Need Microchipping?

Image shows the special microchip reader being used that can electronically read the chip information secreted in the dog

Do I Microchip My Dog And Cat?

Is It Pet Law?

It may seem harsh to pop a chip into your beloved pet but since April 2016 in England, Scotland, and Wales, it has been the law to microchip puppies between eight and twelve weeks old, before they go off to their new owner by the breeder selling the pups and all older dogs.

Breeders must be the puppy’s first registered keeper.

The new dog owner is then provided with details of the registration so that they could contact the government-approved database company and update the ownership details.

How Do You Microchip A Pet?

What Is Dog Microchipping?

Microchipping involves putting a special metal item, a chip, the size best described as a grain of rice, inserted by a fine needle into the scruff back of the neck area of the puppy or dog. It should be a painless procedure when carried out by a trained person who should not cause discomfort or pain to the pet.

The details of the coded chip are then placed into a specially held private database including the owners’ name and address and contact number for the pet.

If stray pets are found, they can be taken to a vet where they can scan the chip and access the details of ownership.

These database businesses, approved by the government operate the dog and pet microchip databases currently, holding invaluable pet information being necessary to help reunite the thousands of pets that go missing, stray, or sadly stolen, each year.

The approved databases can be subject to change. Check the government information.

Any dog owner was obliged to ensure their dog was microchipped by 2016, and fines are imposed if dogs are in public places without wearing a collar with their ID number on or ID tag.

It is important to keep your details up to date with the approved database company as you could be fined up to £500 if your dog is found to be on an unapproved list.

Has Microchipping Helped?

Environment Secretary, Mr. George Eustice MP, during 2021, informed the public that the policy monitored by vets has led to a 90% compliance amongst dog owners.

Microchipping has not been the only pet update with the government committing many new and amended updates on pet and animal welfare for decades.

Do I have To Microchip My Cat?

Whilst the law states that dogs must be microchipped in the UK from 6 April 2016, cats and other small pets currently do not have to as a legal requirement. However, this is all about to change in the forthcoming months with law amendments, with cats being treated the same as dogs, being required legally to be microchipped and registered.

The government is introducing revisions to existing laws that all pet cats in the UK must be microchipped by the time they are 20 weeks old, 5 months old. Owners found not to have microchipped their cat will have 21 days to arrange for their pet to be microchipped or could face a fine of up to £500.

Whilst there is an estimated 12 million cats living in UK homes, (according to the PMFA latest 2021 figures) there are an estimated 2.6 million cats that are unchipped without permanent identification, with cat theft soaring to new heights.

Pet Rabbits And Small Pets

There are an estimated 1 million pet rabbits that reside in UK homes, literally, a third residing in the home with two-thirds kept outside, residing in secure rabbit hutches.

Whilst the law states that dogs must be microchipped in the UK from 6 April 2016, cats or other small pets currently do not have to, as a legal requirement.

Larger pet rabbits physically can be microchipped and there is a growing trend that more expensive breeds including small pets are being microchipped to help dwarf the problems of pet theft.

You can read more about pet theft in Pet Checks post, ‘Pet Theft Reform’ and ‘What Do I Do When My Pet Goes Missing?’

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