- 99% of people support compulsory microchipping for cats
according to recent Government consultation
- Owners will be required to microchip their cats by the time
they reach 20 weeks of age
- Microchipping cats will help reunite thousands of lost or
stray pets every year
Lost or stray pet cats are more
likely to be reunited with their owners and returned home
safely under new pet microchipping rules announced by the
Government today.
Under the new plans, all
keepers must ensure their pet is microchipped before they reach
the age of 20 weeks and their contact details stored and kept up
to date in a pet microchipping database. Owners found not to
have microchipped their cat will have 21 days to have one
implanted, or may face a fine of up to £500.
The new microchipping rules
follow a Government call for evidence and consultation on the
issue in which 99% of respondents expressed support for the
measure.
The introduction of compulsory
cat microchipping was a key manifesto commitment and the
Government pledged to introduce it under its
flagship Action Plan for Animal
Welfare.
There are over 10.8 million pet
cats in the UK, with as many as 2.8 million unchipped, meaning
that it would be very difficult to reunite them with their owner
if they get lost or stolen. Eight out of 10 stray cats coming
into Cats Protection’s centres are not microchipped.
The simple procedure involves
inserting a small chip with a unique serial number under a
cat’s skin. This number can be read by a scanner and checked
against a microchip database to help reunite lost pets quicker
with their registered keeper, saving heartache and
concern.
Animal Welfare Minister
said:
“Cats are much-loved parts of
our families and making sure that they’re microchipped is the
best possible way of making sure that you are reunited with them
if they are ever lost or stolen.
“These new rules will help
protect millions of cats across the country and will be brought
in alongside a range of other protections we are introducing
under our Action Plan for Animal Welfare.”
Cats Protection’s Head
of Advocacy & Government Relations Jacqui Cuff
said:
“As the UK’s leading cat
charity, we have been at the forefront of the campaign for
compulsory microchipping of pet cats. Every day, we see how
important microchipping is for cats and for the people who love
them – whether it’s reuniting a lost cat with their owner,
identifying an injured cat, or helping to ensure an owner can be
informed in the sad event that their cat has been hit and killed
by a car.
“Microchipping is by far the
most effective and quickest way of identifying lost cats and can
help ease the pressure on rescue charities like Cats Protection.
Without a microchip, a lost cat will most likely end up being
rehomed to a new home as there is often no trace of their
original owner.”
Earlier this year the
Government also worked closely with the Royal College of
Veterinary Surgeons to introduce new guidance which requires vets
to scan the microchips of healthy dogs to help ensure they are
not put down unnecessarily. In addition, the Government is
also carrying out a review of the regulations on dog
microchipping and the related microchipping database systems to
consider whether improvements can be made.
The new cat microchipping rules
will be implemented once this review has completed to ensure that
any changes to the operation of the microchipping regime are
brought in at the same time as the new microchipping rules for
cats.
The commitment to microchipping
is part of a wider Government effort to build on our existing
world-leading standards and follows a number of recent
announcements aimed at improving companion animal welfare,
including tackling puppy
smuggling in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill and
introducing a new pet abduction
offence to crack down on
theft.
ENDS
Notes to
editors:
Case
study: Seven-year-old Scarab went missing from his
Truro home in September 2020, shortly after moving house with his
owner Jayne, who suffers from chronic progressive external
ophthalmoplegia.
Jayne’s illness made a home
with good transport links vital to maintain her independence, but
the move proved a shock to ginger-and-white Scarab, who had been
injured in a road traffic accident when younger.
Days after the move he got out
through a faulty cat flap and then failed to come
home.
Fortunately, Scarab had been
microchipped as a rescue kitten from Cats Protection and, 11
months after disappearing, Jayne received a call to say he had
been found. The pair are now happily reunited.
