Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, expressed his support at a National Micro-chipping Month event in Westminster recently. The campaign, launched by the Kennel Club, aims to raise awareness of micro-chipping before it becomes compulsory by law from April 2016.
Sadly, over 8,000 dogs are put down each year because their owner cannot be found. However, The Kennel Club, the UK’s largest dedicated to dog welfare, has said that by micro-chipping dogs and keeping personal details up to date, thousands of otherwise doomed dogs could be identified and reunited with their owners instead of facing possible destruction in the pound.
The event launched the new ‘Chip it, Check it’ education campaign intended to inform the public about the change in law from April 2016 and was supported by Members of Parliament and animal welfare organisations. Regulations due to be laid shortly under the Animal Welfare Act, will place a requirement on owners to have their dogs micro-chipped and registered on one of the databases available. Owners will also be expected to be responsible for ensuring the information is kept up to date in order to have the best chance of reuniting them with their pet.
Speaking about the event, the Rayleigh and Wickford MP said
"In the countdown to compulsory micro chipping, National Micro chipping Month is an ideal reminder for local people to ‘Chip it, Check it’ – to get their dogs micro chipped or if already chipped, check their contact details are up to date on the microchip database."
The Kennel Club has always been dedicated to reuniting dogs and owner through its reunification database Petlog, the UK's largest lost and found database for micro-chipped pets, and holds National Micro-chipping Month each June to educate those involved with dogs on the benefits of micro-chipping."