DOGS Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, welcomes Lord Taylor’s comments in the House of Lords yesterday, which suggested that serious consideration is being given to the introduction of compulsory microchipping. Dogs Trust has long called for Government to repeal and replace the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 with new legislation that better protects the public and improves animal welfare.

Dogs Trust Chief Executive, Clarissa Baldwin, says:

“Dogs Trust has been campaigning for many years to make it a requirement for all dogs to be permanently identified by microchips. This form of identification has many benefits, including directly linking a dog to its owner and thereby allocating responsibility in the instance of aggressive or unsocial behaviour. Microchipping also has many welfare benefits including the ability to swiftly return lost or stray dogs to their owners, to discourage dog theft, and the ability to trace puppy farmed dogs back to their breeder.”

“Dogs Trust research reveals that if the Government introduced compulsory microchipping it could save the public purse between £20.5 and £22.8 million per year. A YouGov survey commissioned by the charity also reveals that 83% of the public are in favour of a compulsory scheme.”

In addition to compulsory microchipping of all dogs, Dogs Trust would like to see police and Local Authorities given powers to deal with the irresponsible owners of dangerous dogs, for example ordering for the dog and owner to go on a training course, for their dogs to be on a lead or muzzle in public places, or in severe cases for a court to disqualify irresponsible dog owners from keeping their dog.