Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the prevalence pet microchip databases on dog owners.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Under The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 all microchip databases are required to meet strict requirements, including having their records linked to each other to enable anyone searching for a microchip entry to know to which database it is registered. Any database found not to be complying with the 2015 Regulation faces a fine of up to £2,500 and having their ability to operate as a microchip database removed. There are currently thirteen compliant databases.
The 2015 Regulations are currently subject to a Post Implementation Review. As part of the review we will look at what effect the prevalence of microchip databases is having on dog owners.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were microchipped in 2018.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government estimates, from figures provided by the relevant microchip databases, that around 8.1 million dogs in the UK were microchipped in 2018. This represents around 90% of all dogs in the UK.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
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 potential merits of bringing forward legislation for mandatory microchip scanning for all pet dogs at routine visits to the veterinarian.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government agrees with the British Veterinary Association (BVA) that it is good practice for veterinary practices to scan dogs that are presented to them, and particularly for the first time, but that it should not be compulsory for them to do so, as in some circumstances this might deter some owners from presenting their dogs at veterinary practices for much needed treatment.
On 23 April 2019, I understand representatives of the group Vets Get Scanning and the BVA met to discuss this issue. The BVA has undertaken to remind veterinary practices to scan dogs in line with best practice and help owners understand the importance of keeping their microchipping records up to date.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of dogs that are not microchipped.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
As at March 2018, we estimate that fewer than 10% of dogs are not microchipped.
Asked by: Chris Ruane (Labour - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that dangerous dogs are chipped in (a) Vale of Clwyd constituency, (b) Wales and (c) England.
Answered by George Eustice
Since 6 April 2016 all dogs in Great Britain have to be microchipped and registered on a database. We estimate that over 94% of dogs in Great Britain are microchipped. In addition, all dogs on the Index of Exempted Prohibited Dogs (dangerous dogs) are required to be microchipped before being returned to their keepers.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to encourage vets, re-homing centres and dog wardens to scan stray dogs for microchips.
Answered by George Eustice
It is already best practice for vets, re-homing centres and dog wardens to scan strays and they have a duty of care to do so. To assist dog wardens, the Kennel Club has provided free scanners to all local authorities. We will also be reminding these parties of the need to scan dogs.
Asked by: Tania Mathias (Conservative - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to increase awareness of the impending legal requirement for dogs to be microchipped.
Answered by George Eustice
The Department has been working with key stakeholders to increase awareness of the need for owners to get their dogs microchipped. This work has included the offer by Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Blue Cross of free microchipping, and the launch of the ChipMyDog Facebook page and has helped contribute to the rise in the percentage of dogs microchipped from around 58% in 2013 to an estimated 83% today. We will continue to work with stakeholders to get this message out to dog owners and prospective owners.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she plans to take to ensure that local authorities which find a dog dead or injured scan the dog's microchip and contact its owners.
Answered by George Eustice
Following a debate in the Westminster Hall on 2 March 2015, the then Minister of State, for the Department of Transport undertook to instruct the Highways Agency to make it their policy to ensure that it collects and identifies every animal that is killed on the strategic road network and to contact the owners by whatever practicable means. The Minister also wrote to all local highway authorities and Transport for London to draw attention to the Government’s policy and reflect on their own policy. It is established good practice for all authorities, including local authorities and dog rescue centres that come into contact with a stray, injured or deceased dog to scan it for a microchip so that the dog’s keeper can be traced. To assist this process, the Kennel Club has donated microchip scanners to every local authority in England and Wales. The compulsory microchipping of all dogs in Great Britain comes into force on 6 April 2016.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that pet rescue centres scan the microchip of dogs in their care and contact their owners.
Answered by George Eustice
Following a debate in the Westminster Hall on 2 March 2015, the then Minister of State, for the Department of Transport undertook to instruct the Highways Agency to make it their policy to ensure that it collects and identifies every animal that is killed on the strategic road network and to contact the owners by whatever practicable means. The Minister also wrote to all local highway authorities and Transport for London to draw attention to the Government’s policy and reflect on their own policy. It is established good practice for all authorities, including local authorities and dog rescue centres that come into contact with a stray, injured or deceased dog to scan it for a microchip so that the dog’s keeper can be traced. To assist this process, the Kennel Club has donated microchip scanners to every local authority in England and Wales. The compulsory microchipping of all dogs in Great Britain comes into force on 6 April 2016.
Asked by: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what preparations her Department is making to ensure that mandatory microchipping of dogs comes into effect in April 2016.
Answered by George Eustice
Regulations to require the compulsory microchipping of all dogs in England by 6 April 2016 came into force on 24 February 2015. Defra is working closely with a number of partners including veterinary organisations, animal welfare charities and others to promote the message on compulsory microchipping using a range of channels including social media and the websites www.chipmydog.org.uk and www.gov.uk.