DEFRA’s insurance and chipping plan for dogs

Legitimate dog owners could lose out if the new proposals become law

By Alastair Balmain

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Government proposals for compulsory insurance and microchipping for all dogs is criticised by law-abiding owner

All dog owners in England and Wales could be forced to microchip their dogs and buy compulsory third-party insurance, according to a new consultation published last week by DEFRA.

The consultation on dangerous dogs was published on Tuesday 9 March, amid reports concerning the growing problem of “status dogs” — dogs that are used by individuals to intimidate and harass members of the public. According to DEFRA’s consulation: These dogs are traditionally, but not exclusively, associated with young people on inner-city estates and those involved in criminal activity.

Within the consultation document, the prospect of annual checks to ensure that microchipped dogs’ details are up to date and accurate highly controversial proposal to make all dog owners face a competency test, as reported in Shooting Times last week (News, 10 March), was hastily dropped from the final consultation document after a Whitehall discussion paper on dog control legislation was leaked on the Internet. The proposal prompted widespread condemnation from law-abiding dog owners.

The rest of this article appears in 17th March issue of Shooting Times.