CHARITIES WELCOME COMPULSORY MICROCHIPPING
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Cats Protection, and the RSPCA have welcomed new microchipping laws.
In response to the announcement, Battersea revealed that, in 2020, 57 per cent of cats that were brought to the charity were not microchipped, compared to only 17 per cent of dogs. A lack of a microchip makes it much harder for staff to trace an owner. In 2019, Battersea was able to reunite 456 dogs with their owners thanks to the pets having accurate microchip details, but only 72 cats due to the far fewer number of felines having a microchip.
Michael Webb, Battersea’s head of public affairs and policy, says:“Each year Battersea takes in thousands of stray cats at our three centres, many of which were likely to have been much loved pets that simply wandered too far from home. Sadly, a significant number of cats arrive with no microchip, and, therefore, no way of tracing an owner. Once microchipping a pet cat becomes mandatory, local authorities and rescues like Battersea will be able to reunite thousands more missing cats each year.
“Battersea would urge all cat owners not to wait and to get their pet microchipped sooner rather than later.”
Cats Protection, which has campaigned for years for compulsory microchipping of cats, has also welcomed the news, saying the new regulations will be a major step forward for cat welfare in England with the charity’s research showing 26 per cent of all pet cats in the UK are not currently microchipped — a total of 2.8 million cats.
Cats Protection’s head of advocacy and Government relations Jacqui
Cuff says:“As the UK’s leading cat charity, we have been at the forefront of the campaign for compulsory microchipping of pet cats.
“Every day we see how important microchipping is for cats and for the people who love them –— whether it’s reuniting a lost cat with their owner, identifying an injured cat, or helping to ensure an owner can be informed in the sad event that their cat has been hit and killed by a car.
“Microchipping is by far the most effective and quickest way of identifying lost cats and can help ease the pressure on rescue charities like Cats Protection. Without a microchip, a lost cat will most likely end up being rehomed to a new home as there is often no trace of their original owner.”
The RSPCA has also shown its support and looks forward to helping the Government create a clear definition for an 'owned cat.'
Head of public affairs at the RSPCA David Bowles says:“We’re pleased to see the Westminster Government progressing with their pledge to bring in compulsory microchipping for owned cats in England.We believe this should be routinely carried out, ideally when the kitten is neutered at around fourmonths-old.
“We’ve seen many stories of cats that have been hit by a car or strayed who never end up being reunited with their owner as they weren’t microchipped, as well as the happy stories where cats have been reunited with their owners by our dedicated officers thanks to this tiny chip.”
He continues:“We have seen the success with compulsory dog microchipping, which has reduced the number of stray dogs in the past five years and cat microchipping could have a similar positive impact on abandoned cats.This is of course great news for cats in England, but we’re also hoping the Welsh Government will act and introduce compulsory microchipping for cats in Wales, too.”