From April 2016, every dog in England and Scotland will have to be microchipped by law
What you need to know:
- From 6th April 2016 all dogs and puppies over 8 weeks of age must be microchipped
- Owners and breeders must register the details of any new owner before they sell or give away any dog or puppy over 8 weeks of age
- After 6th April 2016, police and local enforcing authorities will have the powers to issue legal notices to owners whose dogs are not microchipped. A notice may be served requiring the dog’s keeper to microchip the dog within 21 days of the served notice. Those that do not comply with the 21 day notice will face a fine of up to £500, or an enforcing authority can seize the dog and microchip it at the owner’s expense
- From 6th April 2016 owners will need to have their dogs or puppy's microchipped and registered with up to date details on one of the authorised commercial databases
- Owners must keep contact details up to date on the microchip databases and it will be an offence not to have your dog or puppy’s microchip details up to date. Again, a 21 day notice may be served and failure to comply within this time frame could result in a fine of up to £500
This new legislation applies to dogs only, however the advantage of having your pet microchipped is that it makes it very easy to reunite you with your pet should it be lost or stolen. A quick scan is all that is needed to match a pet with their owner on the database. We strongly recommend that cats are microchipped and other pets such as tortoises can be microchipped too!
If you would like to know more about having your pet microchipped,
please contact the surgery on 01793 528341.
How do you microchip a dog and does it hurt?
Inserting a microchip is quite simple and no more painful than having an injection.
