England: Pet Owners Force to Insert Microchip in Cats or Face Fine of More Than $600

Cat microchipping in England might soon be implemented as compulsory to all pet owners. As early as next year, the England government is set to make this as a requirement upon owning a pet.

Cat microchipping to be set as requirement in England

On Wednesday, Dec. 23, The Guardian and Telegraph UK reported that there might be a new law that will help pet owners to find their lost pet.

Through the process called microchipping-- wherein pets will be injected with a size of grain tiny microchip, home pets will soon be required to undergo this process or owner may face a penalty of £500 or approximately $671.

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), they had already launched an eight-week public consultation with all pet owners, veterinaries, and members of the community to seek advice on this decision.

The proposed measure was approved by most of the owners, in order to prevent the increasing number of pets being stolen or lost in an area.

Why cats, not dogs?

Just like cats, dog microchipping is also a legal process in the United Kingdom. In 2016, dog owners are already required in UK to put microchip in their dogs or face penalty. Owners are given an option to do it within 21 days or pay the fine.

Due to this, animal experts think it's better to do this too on cats.

"There are differences between dogs and cats that must be taken into account before any changes to legislation are made, such as the different legal status of cats, their roaming habits, and the issue of feral or 'community cats'. It is also vital that owners keep their contact details up to date in the database," says PDSA vet Lynne James.

Cat microchipping: Is it safe?

Vets4Pets said that cat microchipping is a safe way to track pets, once lost or stolen. The microchip is inserted under the cat's skin, between their shoulder blades and have a painless way to inject the chip.

The microchip is coded with a unique number that can be read by a scanner. Once the cat gets lost or found in veterinary or shelter, the database can be accessed online, in order to identify the owner of the pet.

The agency clarifies that the microchip being installed, will not record any of the personal information of the owner. Therefore, safe for the pets and user privacy.