Ensure dog microchip details are up to date – it's the law
14 Oct 2020 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Northumberland County Council is urging all dog owners to ensure their dogs are microchipped and that the details that are held on record are kept up to date.
This appeal especially applies to dog owners who have recently moved to a new house or acquired a new phone number.
The warning comes after three dog owners were prosecuted and fined for breaking the law by failing to update their dog’s microchip details, despite being told they must do so.
On each occasion their dogs were found roaming the streets by an animal welfare officer from Northumberland County Council and although the dogs were microchipped, the details were out of date. Despite being given plenty of time to correct the microchip records, each one failed to do so.
The Government brought in the new ruling that all dogs must be microchipped back in 2016 in a bid to help tackle the growing problem of strays roaming the streets and to relieve the burden on animal charities and local authorities.
Micro-chipping is a painless procedure that involves a small chip being implanted under the dog’s skin. It has a unique identification number, linked to a secure national database, on which the owner’s name and address is stored. It can be done by a vet or by the county council.
Northumberland County Councilor John Riddle, cabinet member for community services said:
“Our Animal Welfare Team deal with hundreds of strays each year. They work very hard to keep unsupervised animals off the street as they can pose a danger to themselves and to public safety, as regrettably we have experienced in Northumberland before.
“ A microchip is the first thing we check when we pick up a stray but, sadly, in a lot of cases the information stored is out of date so we can’t get them home.
“ Dog owners need to ensure they’ve taken all the necessary steps to be a responsible owner; this includes a collar with identification and registering their pet with one of the national microchip databases. Once your dog is chipped, please keep your contact details up to date especially if you move or change phone number.”