Microchips in dogs to be compulsory

All dogs in England will need to be microchipped from 16 April 2016, environment secretary Owen Paterson has announced.

The Government will bring in compulsory microchipping in a bid to help reunite lost or stolen dogs with their owners, as well as to “protect the welfare of dogs by promoting responsible dog ownership”.

The Kennel Club, which has welcomed the move, plans to give microchip scanners to every local authority in England and Wales. The club will do this in conjuction with Petlog, a lost-and-found database for microchipped pets.

Kennel Club secretary Caroline Kisko said: “After speaking with dog owners around the country, we are confident compulsory michropping will be very well received.”

The rest of this article appears in the 13th February issue of Shooting Times.

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