Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023

Lord Benyon Excerpts

Wednesday 19th April 2023 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Lord Benyon]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023.

Relevant document: 35th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Benyon) (Con)]

My Lords, the purpose of this instrument is to introduce compulsory cat microchipping in England, delivering one of the Government’s key manifesto pledges. This measure was supported by 99% of respondents to our public consultation, which received over 33,000 responses.

Microchipping improves animal welfare by increasing the traceability of pets, making it easier for lost, stray or stolen pets to be reunited with their keepers and returned home safely. Microchipping is a safe procedure involving the insertion of a chip, generally about the size of a grain of rice, under the skin of a pet. Once the microchip has been inserted, contact details are registered with a compliant database. The regulations also include provisions that relate to ensuring that microchips are inserted by competent people.

Since the Government introduced compulsory dog microchipping in England in 2016, around 90% of dogs are now microchipped. Evidence suggests that stray dogs that are microchipped and have up-to-date microchip records are more than twice as likely to be reunited with their keeper than stray dogs without a microchip.

There are over 9 million owned cats in England, but as many as 2.3 million are currently not microchipped. These measures are intended to address this. From 10 June 2024, any owned cat over the age of 20 weeks must be microchipped and the keeper’s contact details registered on a compliant database. There is an exception to this, where a vet certifies that the procedure should not be carried out for animal health reasons. However, I reassure your Lordships that this exception is rarely used. These requirements apply only to owned cats; they do not apply to free-living cats that live with little or no human interaction or dependency, such as farm, feral or community cats.

As with the existing requirements for dogs, keepers found not to have microchipped their cat may be served with a notice by the enforcement body, which will usually be the local authority. If they do not comply, they may face a fine of up to £500, and the enforcement body may also arrange for the cat to be microchipped at the keeper’s expense.

This instrument also repeals and replaces the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015, bringing all the measures into a new single instrument covering both dogs and cats. There are no substantive changes to the existing provisions covering the requirement to have your dog microchipped, although we have taken the opportunity to make technical drafting changes where we considered the existing text would benefit from further clarity. Animal welfare is a devolved issue and therefore these regulations apply to England only.

Noble Lords may be aware that, last year, the Government also consulted on wider pet microchipping reform designed to improve the operation of the existing regime. This includes plans to: make it easier for approved users to access microchip records; improve the accuracy of the records; and standardise database operator processes. We will be issuing our response to this consultation shortly. However, I can reassure noble Lords that we are planning to come forward with amending regulations in due course to implement these improvements. I beg to move.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome these regulations. I was chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in the other place and, as my noble friend will recall, we took great interest in this.

My view is that this measure will be successful only if it is properly enforced. Given that that the penalties will, I presume, be similar to those imposed for a breach of the obligation to microchip dogs, how many fines have been imposed for failure to comply with the obligation to microchip dogs? Does my noble friend share my frustration that we are still 10% short of the magic 100% figure for dogs? It is hoped that the obligation to microchip cats will bring it up to that level. Is that the Government’s ambition, or are they aiming even higher than that?

At the moment, there is the vexed issue of dangerous dogs doing damage. Often, they attack a person in a public place. I assume that these dogs will be microchipped. To what extent does my noble friend think that the Government’s current obligation to microchip dogs is successful in identifying and tracing dogs that commit a grievous injury or fatality in a public place?

On the exemption, I presume that there will be potential for a feral cat to cross over and commit an injury such as biting or scratching a perfectly innocent bystander, which we know can have very significant effects. Obviously, they have no owner, so what happens in that situation, in terms of identifying the feral cat and bringing it to justice, as it were?

My final question is about the continuous issue of what I think are called boiler-house dogs: the breeding of multiple pups which, when they are not sold, are unlikely to be microchipped. For the sake of completeness, what is the Government’s policy in that regard? I understand from press reports that these dogs are literally dumped on the streets and taken in by cats and dogs homes, such as Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, for whose work we are grateful. Is that occurring more than it was before and is there a similar problem with cats and kittens?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for providing an overview of this very important statutory instrument and also thank his team for the helpful briefing that it provided.

The issue of microchipping cats has been widely consulted on, and these regulations are, of course, supported by His Majesty’s Opposition. Let us be clear why we are here today: one-quarter of all owned cats are not currently microchipped, which compares unfavourably to their canine friends, as only 10% of dogs are not chipped. While that statistic is surprising enough, the scale of the problem is compounded by the fact that 59% of cats taken in by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and 80% taken in by the Cats Protection adoption centres were not chipped. That can truly be heartbreaking for those pet owners who have lost their feline friends and cannot be reunited with them. As a proud nation of animal lovers, we must do better, which is why these regulations are so important. However, I would like to ask the Minister a couple of questions related to the implementation of the regulations.

Can the Minister confirm that the department is in discussions both with local authorities and with the relevant charities to ensure support for those who will struggle to meet the financial obligations associated with the implementation of the regulations, as has been highlighted?

On a further point, Rebecca Pow, the Minister in the other place, this week suggested that a further SI would follow regarding the microchipping database system and the need to have a standardised system in place for relevant parties to access. Can the Minister inform us as to when we should expect both the SI and sight of these plans to streamline the 22 current systems?

I would also be grateful if the Minister could provide your Lordships’ Committee with the definition his department and relevant stakeholders will be expected to use to differentiate between owned, feral and community cats.

We all want nothing but the best for our pets and those animals which we see in and around our communities every day—or currently on the campaign trail—which is why the Labour Party supports this statutory instrument. I pay tribute to the animal welfare organisations which have campaigned on this issue for many years and brought it to our attention, most notably Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Cats Protection and the RSPCA, whose work we recognise today.

[Lord Benyon (Con)]

I am grateful to noble Lords for their important contributions to this debate and for the support for the compulsory cat microchipping provisions. I join the noble Baroness in paying tribute to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Cats Protection, the RSPCA and other organisations which have long campaigned for this. I hope that we will see this on the statute book in the very near future—I should just say to the noble Baroness, Lady Doocey, that it will kick in in June 2024.

Microchipping has established substantial benefits for the welfare of our pets and offers peace of mind for their keepers. I am delighted that we are delivering on the Government’s manifesto commitment, which is so strongly supported by the public. I will address as many of the points as I can.

On enforcement, the maximum fine is £500. My noble friend Lady McIntosh asked about the implementation of this with regard to dogs: I think almost 500 people have been fined for not having had their dog microchipped.

My noble friend also asked what the definition of an “owned cat” is. Colloquially, the term refers to cats that are generally kept as pet cats; free-living cats such as farm, feral or community cats that live with little or no human interaction or dependency are not regarded as owned cats. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Cats will be updated to include the new requirement for compulsory microchipping and provide further clarification that may be needed. We will consider issuing guidance on enforcement to local authorities. Of course it is difficult to define in government and legislative terms something so broad as the life of cats. We know that some move very short distances away from their owners, whereas others live virtually as wild animals.

Microchips are used to identify dangerous dogs. All prohibited dogs which receive an exemption under the Dangerous Dogs Act must be microchipped. It is mandatory to microchip your dog, and since 6 April 2016 it has been a requirement for dogs in England to be microchipped. Puppies over the age of eight weeks must be microchipped and their details recorded on one of the compliant databases. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have mandatory dog-chipping requirements in place.

We recognise how painful it is for an owner to lose a pet. When I was in the other place, dog theft was a major issue in the Berkshire/Oxfordshire area, and it struck me as a new MP that it was not being taken seriously, particularly by the police in those circumstances. Losing a pet in this way is a horrible crime that completely ruins people’s lives, so it is important to be able to work locally and make sure that the profile of that is raised. I know that police and crime commissioners have gone a long way towards making this a much more seriously viewed crime among local police forces. Great work is happening, and we want to make sure that that continues.

On a point mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Trees, compulsory microchipping will make it easier for deceased cats to be reunited with their owners and for their owners to be informed of the circumstances. Highways England and the majority of local authorities already have procedures in place to scan dead cats and dogs found by the roadside. In addition, we are committed to improving the operation of the microchip databases.

Further on my noble friend Lady McIntosh’s point about fines, in fact 421 fines were issued for this offence; 1,126 various summary offences contrary to the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 have been imposed, with an average of 84 fines per year, the average fine being £204.

Many noble Lords have raised the issue of the databases. The legal framework for database operators that store cat microchip records mirrors that currently in place for dogs. My noble friend is absolutely right: there are 22 separate databases that hold themselves compliant with the legislation, 21 of these also accept cat microchip records and a list can be found on GOV.UK. Our current consultation, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Anderson, referred, will address the point of access to the data on those databases. She is absolutely right: at the moment, you can access under which database it is listed, but then there is a further procedure. We are seeking to create one portal which will enable the veterinary surgeon or whoever is scanning the cat to identify the owner as quickly as possible. We think that is really important. The consultation on the microchip database system reforms closed on 20 May last year. We are currently analysing the responses with a view to introducing reformed measures this year, and we will be issuing a response to the consultation soon.

In response to my noble friend Lord Caithness, dog breeding is regulated under certain circumstances, but cat breeding is not. As puppies can be rehomed from eight weeks of age, the requirement for them to be microchipped by eight weeks ensures that the breeder is the first registered keeper—I am sorry: I cannot remember who raised this. The Government decided to raise the age at which a cat should be microchipped from the proposed 16 to 20 weeks due to responses in the public consultation. This is to allow the procedure to be carried out alongside neutering, which may be routinely carried out up to 20 weeks, so it fits with those specific requirements of cats, as opposed to dogs.

My noble friend Lord Caithness also raised the important issue of wildlife being killed by cats. It is very hard to legislate against this, but millions of birds are killed every year by domestic pets, many of them cats. We of course encourage responsible ownership. There are various things that a cat owner can do to make it harder for it to catch birds—where you put your bird feeder is but one of them—but he raises a very important point. The number of feral cats, although they can be very useful in farmyard settings for controlling vermin, is also part of the problem with killing birds, and we need to see a reversal in the decline of species in this country. We have a very firm commitment, and we are open to any suggestions which can help with responsible pet ownership. It is not just cats: if you watched “Springwatch” last year, you will have seen a dog destroying a redshank’s nest on the North Norfolk coast. People must control their pets and be responsible. We recognise that the damage that can be done by irresponsible pet ownership can be devastating to rare species.

We agree with the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Trees, about scanning not being compulsory. We agree with his position and thank him and the royal college for their support on this matter.