In a new scheme to reduce the amount of animals being stolen and abandoned, all dogs in Britain will have to be injected with a rice-granule-sized microchip between their shoulder blades or behind their ear. Each microchip will contain a unique barcode which, when scanned, will reveal the owner’s contact information, as well as the animal’s name, breed, age and health information. All this information will be stored in a database, which can be accessed by councils and relevant authorities. Whether the information will be made available to pet insurance companies is not yet known however.
The scheme is due to be made public at the next election and phased in gradually to allow owners time to comply with the requirements. Once it is in place however, owners found to be failing to comply with the requirements can face a fine, or even have their pet taken away from them. Although the microchips would need to be kept updated, they only need to be inserted once, in a £10 procedure that is said to be quick and relatively painless for the animal. Being both cheap and simple, it is hoped that the most owners will comply with the requirements. Not only will it make animals easy to identify, but it may also have advantages for vets – as they can tell an animal’s medical history in a matter of seconds. Already the practise is popular with dog owners; especially as pet insurance companies sometimes offer reduced rates for animals with microchips.
The move to make it compulsory to chip your pet follows a sharp rise in the number of dogs and cats being abandoned in Britain, as well as the shocking discovery of a brutal dog-fighting gang operating across the UK and Europe. It is hoped that microchipping every dog will help reduce the trade in stolen dogs, prevent owners turning their pets out onto the street and help authorities reunite lost pets with their owners as quickly as possible. Between March 2008 and March 2009, nearly 108,000 dogs were found across Britain – a third of those that were abandoned were returned to their owners with the help of microchips. After the bodies of four dogs were identified by their microchips, having been dumped in a field by a pet cremation company; the news that the government is supporting a move to prevent similar horrific incidents comes as a welcome one.
Many animal charities, including the RSPCA, Dogs Trust and various dog insurance companies, are backing the plans as a cheap way to help protect animals; especially in times when lack of money is drawing more people to extreme action. In the last year, there has been an 11% rise in the number of dogs found abandoned in Britain and many believe the recession is to blame. In south London, the council has already made it mandatory for all council tenants with dogs to have their pets microchipped and put their details into a database – showing that the scheme can on a large scale.
At least in this time of economic downturn it is more likely that every party will want to support this move as a ray of hope. As the election draws near and parties start writing policies, nobody will want to be seen to leave this matter unattended – a positive sign for animal lovers everywhere.
Mark Baker works in pet rescue and recommends readers to visit http://www.petpalsdirect.co.uk/ for more information on pet health and dog insurance. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/all-dogs-to-be-microchipped-1285565.html
