Why should I get my dog microchipped?
A microchip is a permanent form of identification. As long as the details are kept up to date, you can always be contacted if your dog goes missing.
When dogs are found straying they are collected by the local authority dog warden and kept for seven days. If your microchipped dog goes missing and is taken in by the dog warden, your contact details will be easily found and you can come and collect them straight away, even if their collar and ID tag have fallen off.
But without identification telling the dog warden who your dog belongs to, they cannot let you know your beloved pet has been found. After seven days your dog can be passed to a rehoming charity, such as Blue Cross, to be found a loving new home, or they can be euthanised by the local authority.
Each year we look after many dogs who we know must have come from loving homes as they are friendly, affectionate and have had training. But sadly, without a microchip, we have no way of reuniting them with their owners so we find them new loving families instead, even though we know that somewhere out there a heartbroken owner is missing them terribly.
It’s really important to keep your dog’s details up to date, too. We have rehomed dogs whose owners we could not get in touch with because the details on the microchip were not current.
So what is the new legislation?
Three years ago the UK Government introduced plans to change the way we ‘register’ our pets. On April 6th, that new legislation is coming into practice. From this date forward, every dog in England, Scotland and Wales will be required by law to be microchipped.
Compulsory microchipping has already been in place in Northern Ireland since 2012.
The legislation is primarily designed to make it easier for lost pets to be reunited with their keepers, but it will also make it easier to identify dogs that are involved in incidents and trace them back to an individual who might then be held to account.
Many dogs have already undergone the procedure, but it is estimated that there are still at least 2 million that still need to be microchipped.**
According to the new legislation, all dogs over the age of 8 weeks will need to be microchipped. In order for microchips to be compliant with the new law, the details linked to them must be registered on an approved database and kept up to date by all dog keepers, including breeders.
Anyone who doesn’t have their dog microchipped by April 6th will have 21 days to comply or may face a penalty fine of up to £500 for not microchipping.
Is there a fine/penalty if I don’t keep my database details up to date?
Yes. Under the regulations, your dog is considered micro-chipped when you (1) implant the dog with a chip and (2) register your details on an approved database. If any keeper subsequently moves, changes contact telephone number, etc. then the dog is no longer considered micro-chipped under the regulations and enforcement can be taken and a notice served. If the keeper does NOT get their details up to date within 21 days of the served notice, then you will be liable to pay a fine of £500.
Science Behind Your Pet’s Microchip
From Wednesday 6th April 2016 the law is changing and all dogs must have a microchip which is registered to an approved database by the time they are 8 weeks old.