7 February 2013

All English Dogs to be Chipped by April 2016

Owen Peterson, the Environment Secretary announced a package of measures yesterday to tackle welfare and irresponsible dog ownership.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson announced plans yesterday to ensure stray dogs can be traced back to their owners. The MP reported that 96% of over 27,000 responses to consultation by DEFRA were in favour of some form of compulsory microchipping of all dogs.

The regulations will require all dogs in England to be microchipped from 6th April 2016 and owners will be responsible for registering the details of any new owner before they sell or give the dog away. Owners who refuse to comply with the changes to the Animal Welfare Act will face fines of up to £500.

According to the animal charity Dogs Trust around 58% of the UK's 8 million dogs are already chipped which helped local authorities to re-unite just under half of the 119,000 stray dogs handed in with their owners.

Northern Ireland already has compulsory microchipping for dogs and dog wardens report that 95% of stray dogs are reunited with their owners in a matter of hours. The Welsh government is currently consulting on similar proposals.

There is currently no legal requirement for owners to have third party liability insurance for their dogs though owners can still be held liable for the actions of their animal. Being able to identify the owner from the dog should help the fight against irresponsible owners. It's not only attacks by dogs that can lead to a claim against an owner. A dog not under control that causes a car accident could easily leave the owner facing substantial compensation claims in court.

Third part liability insurance is is normally included in Pet Insurance which can cost from under £6 per month for a small mongrel.