6 Feb 2013

Dogs must be micro-chipped from 2016

All dog owners will have to micro-chip their animals to make it easier to track dangerous dogs and cut the number of strays, in a move that is welcomed by animal charities.

Dogs must be micro-chipped from 2016 (G)

The government will today announce plans for compulsory micro-chips for dogs, with owners being given three years to comply.

As part of changes to the Animal Welfare Act, tiny micro-chips with a code for the contact details of the owner will be required for every UK dog from April 2016.

Dog owners will also face prosecution if an animal attacks anyone in their home under new plans.

The move, which will be announced by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, will be a boost for postmen and women who have campaigned for a change in the law, as well as health visitors and others who call at private addresses but who have not been covered by the law if they are bitten by a dog.

More than 6,000 members of the public needed hospital treatment after being attacked by dogs between 2010 and 2011. Eight children and six adults have been killed in dog attacks since 2005.

£57m cost of strays

The new plans will also crack down on stray animals which have been parted from their owners. Around 110,000 stray dogs are picked up by police, local authorities and animal welfare charities each year, with around half unable to be reunited with their owner because they cannot be identified.

This costs the taxpayer and welfare charities £57m a year, and around 6,000 healthy stray dogs have to be put down each year.

The Dogs Trust, which has been campaigning for compulsory micro-chipping for over a decade, said it would welcome any announcement on the issue from ministers.

“This immediate method of identification is essential to improve dog welfare and we believe it will help to reduce the number of dogs that needlessly end up with an uncertain fate in council pounds and rescue centres when their owners simply cannot be traced,” said a spokesman.

The micro-chipping procedure does not require an anaesthetic and is not unusually painful for the dog.

Micro-chipping was made compulsory in Northern Ireland in April 2012.