According to Defra, approximately 80% of all dogs are already microchipped and registered on a database. Despite this high figure, research conducted by Blue Cross in April this year revealed that almost half the dog owners questioned in a recent survey did not know it will be compulsory by law for all dogs to be microchipped by April 2016.
The major challenge of the new legislation continues to be awareness amongst dog owners. So what can veterinary nurses do to help?
Legislation update
The Microchipping of Dogs Regulations for England were announced in October 2014, and outlined the responsibilities of breeders and dog owners once microchipping becomes compulsory in England from 6 April 2016.
Wales have just announced (20th October, 2015) their regulations and the Microchipping of Dogs (Wales) Regulations 2015 will come into force on 6 April 2016 to coincide with England and will require all dogs over 8 weeks old to be microchipped, and the keeper's details registered on an approved database.
Scotland is also working towards bringing in compulsory microchipping in the spring of 2016, in line with England and Wales.
In the lead up to April 2016
Discussing the new law with dog owners ahead of April 2016 will have a positive impact on the percentage of dog owners who are currently unaware of the change in legislation and their responsibilities.
Ahead of April 2016, veterinary practices are encouraged to discuss the new legislation to help their clients understand their legal requirements. Raising awareness that not only do all dogs need to be microchipped by 6 April 2016, but they need to be registered with a government compliant database and their contact details kept up to date.
Veterinary practices are also encouraged to discuss with dog breeders that their litters must be microchipped by the time the puppies are 8 weeks old and before they go to a new home.
To ensure that veterinary practices comply with the law and provide the best possible service to their clients they should:
- Confirm that their microchip supplier uses only ISO 11784/11785 standard microchips and works with an established compliant database, e.g. Petlog
- Ensure microchip scanners read both ISO standard FDX-B (134.2kHz) and older FECAVA FDX-A (125kHz) microchips
- Check that the microchip database is compliant with Defra's database operator requirements
- Advise breeders or welfare organisations who implant microchips themselves to ensure they are trained through a government approved course (e.g LANTRA)
- Report an adverse reaction to a microchip or the failure of a microchip to The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (2015) through the Microchip Adverse Event Reporting Scheme https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368474/PCDOCS-_596562-v2-VMD_Leaflet_017_A_-_VMD_s_Microchip_Adverse_Event_Reporting_Scheme.PDF
- Remind owners of docked working dogs that they have up to 12 weeks to be microchipped instead of 8 weeks provided the tail docking requirements are met
- Remind dog owners that the microchipping regulations do not affect the requirement for collars and tags as part of the Control of Dogs Order 1992.