Not long to go before new microchipping law

Dog owners are being reminded there are only days left to go before their dog must by law be microchipped.

On April 6 new government legislation will come into force making it compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped.

Failure to have their dogs chipped could see owners landed with a £500 fine. The new law can be enforced by local authorities, police officers and PCSOs.

Microchipping will not, however, replace the legal requirement for dogs to wear a collar or tag with the owner’s details, in a public place.

Coun Karen Leytham, Cabinet member with responsibility for Environmental Health, said: “This is an important step forward for dog welfare and will greatly assist in re-uniting dogs with their owners quickly and easily should they ever become lost.

“To prepare dog owners for the change we’ve held a number of free micro chipping events over the last two years and ‘chipped in excess of 500 dogs and we intend to continue holding these free microchipping events throughout 2016.

“There’s therefore no excuse and if someone still has not had their dog microchipped I would urge them to do so as soon as possible.”

The next free ‘chipping event will be on Monday April 11 2016 from 5pm – 8pm. It will again be held at Centurion with Westgate Scout Hut, Tarnbrook Road, Kingsway, Heysham.

Quick guide to the new law:

•       From 6 April 2016 the keeper (who the dog usually resides with) of a dog older than eight weeks must ensure that it is microchipped unless a vet has certified it should not be microchipped for health reasons.

•       Dog breeders are the first keeper of a puppy. The breeder must therefore have the puppy chipped before transferring it to a new keeper.

•       A dog is not deemed to be chipped unless the keeper’s details are up to date.  It is the keeper’s responsibility to update the details and an offence if they fail to do so.

•       It is an offence to transfer a dog to a new keeper unless it is chipped.
•       Dogs certified by a vet as working dogs with docked tails do not have to be chipped unless they are older than 12 weeks.

•       If a dog is not chipped a notice can be served on the keeper requiring them to have a dog chipped within 21 days. Where a keeper fails to comply with a notice the council  can, without the keeper’s consent, arrange for the dog to be chipped and recover the costs.

It is an offence to fail to comply with a notice, resulting in a fine of up to £500.

Last updated: 21 March 2016