Defra discusses microchipping at BSAVA Congress
Andy Patnelli, Defra.
Each year, 50 per cent of stray dogs are put to sleep, according to Andy Patnelli, Defra's police leader for the compulsory microchipping regulations.
Speaking at the BSAVA Congress yesterday (April 4), he said around 100,000 stray dogs are picked up by local authorities each year, at a cost of £30 million.
Compulsory dog microchipping is due to come into force in England on April 1, 2016. The law applies to all dogs from eight weeks old. Mr Patnelli says this will help lost dogs to be reunited with their owners more quickly, reducing the financial burden on local authorities.
The legislation follows a 2012 public consultation on responsible dog ownership. Of the 27,000 responses to be submitted, 96 per cent supported microchipping, Mr Patnelli says.
Currently, 66 per cent of dogs in the UK are microchipped, leaving 2.5 million without chips.
Under the new law, the breeder is considered the first keeper and is responsible for passing the puppy's registration details onto the new owner. All keepers must keep these registration details up to date. Dogs that are unfit to be microchipped, usually for medical reasons, are exempt from the law.
Veterinary nurses who implant microchips will require official training under the new law. Implantation training is currently done by LANTRA.
In addition, a system for reporting adverse reactions to microchipping will be introduced and is currently in development.
Mr Patnelli said there are currently no plans to introduce compulsory cat microchipping.
BSAVA is trialling interactive questions at this year's congress. This allows delegates to submit questions to speakers during lectures, which can then be displayed on screen and answered at the end of the talk.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
