Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the risks of (a) microchip migration to another location, (b) tumour development at the injection site and (c) other side effects as a result of the microchipping of cats; and if he will make a statement.

The Government will be issuing a public consultation on compulsory cat microchipping shortly.

It is a requirement of the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 to report adverse reactions to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). Adverse reactions include microchip migration and any negative health reaction the veterinarian considers to be adverse. Adverse reactions to dog microchipping are relatively rare. In 2019, it was reported that out of around 540,000 dogs microchipped that year, around 0.07% of dogs experienced adverse reactions, of which approximately 98% were due to microchip migration and failure of the microchip.