Millions of dog owners confused about microchipping
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Four million dog owners are unaware of upcoming legislation which requires all dogs to be microchipped, research by Petlog has revealed.
The research, carried out by the UK’s largest lost and found database for microchipped pets, has found that almost half of all dog owners are unaware of the impending compulsory microchipping legislation.
Just 54% of dog owners answered that they knew compulsory microchipping for dogs was to be implemented in the UK and only one in five of those knew that the legislation was coming in to force in 2016.
More worryingly, however, was the lack of understanding of how a microchip works – 12%, which would amount to more than 900,000 dog owners in the UK, thought a microchip acted as a GPS device.
For 10 years Petlog has been running National Microchipping Month in June to raise the profile of pet microchipping and its benefits, and also to educate pet owners about how it works, the need to keep contact details up to date and how to make the most from a database.
“Making sure that awareness about microchipping was our first priority when we began National Microchipping Month in 2004, but now we want to ensure pet owners fully understand exactly how the microchip works, that they need to keep their contact details up to date and of course are aware of what is happening in regards to legislation," said Petlog executive Celia Walsom.
“Microchipping is the most popular form of permanent identification, and has reunited hundreds of thousands of pets and owners in the UK since it was introduced here over twenty years ago, and yet pet owners do not seem to fully understand how the microchip works and why it is so important to keep their contact details up to date.
“Worryingly the research found that around 12% of pet owners wrongly believe that the microchip acts as some sort of GPS device, or can stop a pet from wandering a certain distance. It is important that people understand how a microchip works so that they know how to make the most of it.
“The rules of responsible pet ownership still stand - the microchip is an added benefit and should work alongside a collar and tag. The research found that half of pet owners (51%) didn’t know if their contact details were up to date with their microchip database. We need pet owners to understand that they need to keep their contact details up to date as it becomes a lot harder and slower, if possible at all, to reunite pets when contact details become outdated.”
A microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and each microchip has a unique number which is identified when scanned. Welfare organisations, vets, dog wardens and other authorised users will scan a pet when it comes to them and contact the microchip’s database to find the owner’s details.
For several years Petlog has raised concerns that pet owners’ contact details can become out of date and they have been using National Microchipping Month as a catalyst to get pet owners to check their contact details by working with vets, welfare and local authorities to raise awareness.
To find out more about National Microchipping Month and events that are taking place in your area, visit www.nationalmicrochippingmonth.org.uk.
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