Require vets to check cats and dogs recorded microchip details yearly

Background

We want the Government to amend The Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023 to require vets to scan pets’ microchips yearly (i.e. when vaccinations are due) and check the owners details against the database to ensure the chip is registered and the details are up to date.

Additional details

Of the many dogs collected by wardens nationally every week, we believe some are not microchipped. Of those that are, many may have either unregistered chips or ones still linked to breeders or previous owners. Some owners might not realise they need to register the chip themselves, and some might forget to update details. Vets might not check that the chips are correctly registered/up to date. We believe yearly database checking by vets could alert them to problems and help prevent issues later

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