8
Mar
2016
By Calvin at 12:22 GMT, 9 years ago
If you are a dog owner living in England or Scotland and have not had your dog fitted with a microchip please be aware that this will become a requirement under the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 and Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016 on 6th April 2016.
It is already a legal requirement in Northern Ireland (April 2012) and Wales (March 2015).
This applies to all dogs that are over eight weeks old and it is estimated that there are over two million dogs that are yet to be chipped.
The new regulations were introduced to reduce the number of vicious or illegal dog breeds in ownership and to help reunite the many hundreds of dogs that go missing each day with their owners.
Dogs will need to be microchipped and registered with their keepers’ contact details. All keepers, which include breeders, must keep these details up-to-date. This means that dog breeders will be responsible for microchipping their puppies before they pass them onto the new keepers.
It is hoped that microchipping will reduce the burden on animal charities and local authorities and promote responsible dog ownership.
If an un-chipped dog comes to the attention of the local authority or the police after 6th April, its keeper will be served with a notice requiring the dog to be chipped and may face prosecution and a £500 fine if they fail to comply.
More information (and free microchipping) is available via the website of the Dogs Trust
