http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21345730

By 2016 every dog owner in England must have their pet micro-chipped or face a fine of £500. They are also going to close a loophole that means owners can be prosecuted over an attack on private land.

As someone who works in animal rescue I think this is a great idea but am unsure how well it will be legislated. We see many hundreds of animals each year that are lost or abandoned with no form of ID at all or they have a micro-chip but the details are out of date.

If this law can be implemented properly and work to cut down on the amount of dogs that are put to sleep each year due to no ID then it is all for the better.

Open for discussion

Not opposed to the idea, and I can see the benefits, just a little concern over the cost for OAPs etc,
We keep meaning to get our dog done, we should have had him done when he was a puppy and he was being neutered I can't recall why we didn't.
Our cat has been done,
this will probably make us 'get our act together' and get him done, he does have the old fashioned 'tag' on his collar,

On the whole I think it's a good idea,

It's just something else the responsible owners will comply with and everyone else will ignore IMO. I can remember going to the post office months before the dog license was stopped and trying to buy a license and they didn't even have any forms - so many people ignored the law they no longer held forms to apply.

Also who will check this ? I took a dog we found to the police a while ago and they didn't have a scanner, one of our vet surgeries locally won't chip he doesn't believe it is good for the dog so he can't check chips. Will he be compelled to chip ?

It isn't 100 % effective either we never did find Duncan's chip it was in his shoulder at one point but disappeared from there and never showed up for the last 5 years of his life !

My dogs have always been chipped and never had a single problem.
Many vets now offer chipping at £10 for life now - I paid this once and that's it.

If people cannot afford £10 for chipping then they cannot afford to keep a dog - plain and simple.

Ah but once it's compulsory how much will it cost ?

I think its a good idea, any little thing that helps protect our faithful friends a bit more, is worthy of a £10/ £20 spend.

Amber was chipped and didn't have any problems.

Totally agree with this.

I cant see how its going to work either. The good owners out there will get their pets chipped. The scallys with their ego dogs wont bother.

There doesnt seem that many pets chipped as it is. On Facebook Im on a forum for lost pets. They put pictures on of dogs that have been picked up and taken there. The number of dogs that arent chipped or are chipped and when they try to contact the name on the chip its the wrong phone number or the poor things been sold on and no one bothered to update the microchip.

If you see a dog and owner walking down the street how are you going to know if its been chipped??

Dogs in N.I have been micro chipped since last year , the service was free for a few months but now must be paid for in addition to the annual dog licence fee.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17643970

Not sure if I agree with it or not, i think people with dogs should take more control over them. i was out with a mate taking a friend of his dog out for a walk on Monday and this woman came across from the other side of the field another dog, no control what so ever. Had a go at the dog we was walking and had a go at us when we tried to stop it. The woman did not care, even after we shouted at her, she said it was the way he was. Then put it a lead if it can't be controlled.

The problem i have with these chips is that some animals have had tumours around the area these chips are placed. Coincidence? I don't think any one knows, but i don't think I would take the risk if I had a dog. Also how is it going to be policed anyway?

I would not put one in my cat either. I think the dog licence should come back mind you, so many people have a dog and treat it badly, a licence may make people think about getting a dog they can't afford and the money could be used to pay out to people who get attacked.

I know people can treat cats badly, but they are a lot cheaper to feed than a dog.

I got nothing against dogs, I would not have one.

Oh a link about the tumour thing

The initial cost here (N.I) was 9.50 but after that the cost will rise to 20-30 pounds plus an additional 12.50 per year for the licence.
http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/Council-...ochipping.aspx

" Also how is it going to be policed anyway?" the dog will receive a collar tag which is colour coded for each year and date stamped, at least that is how it works in N.I.

Jeez mine already have 3 tags now how many more will we end up with, address and phone number on one, vet info and medical needs on another and another with chipped and neutered on it.

But once your dog is chipped all the tag information is not needed so all the tags can be removed, only a licence tag will be needed. The chipping system also allows you access to a database to update your dogs information, it is a good system which imo works very well. I got my cats chipped last year as well as I hate them wearing collars.

But this is not N.I and i expect this government will do it all on the cheap. another database

No talk about a licence, just a chip and according to what I have read and heard it will be free. so who is going to pick the cost up for this? no doubt us the tax payers again.

As I understand it all of the U.K will be coming in line with N.I but the licence is not expensive at 12.50 per year including tag which gives dog wardens a visual indicator that the dog in both licensed and chipped. The initial cost from some vets was 9.50 for the chipping though people on benefits got it done free, after the initial introduction period was finished the cost as between 20-30 pounds.

I agree with you 100% on that. Chipping may make people think twice about getting a dog and if they need to think about having a dog they should not own one. I'm also pro license to be honest.

it is a good idea, but it's not going to be the brilliant thing it is cracked up to be at the moment.

yes, it is going to be the "law" that every dog has to be microchipped, but it is currently the "law" that a dog should wear a collar and a tag with the owners name and address on it as well as a contact telephone number, but how many people actually have this?

i have one for my boy, but my friend doesn't, she did have one, but the dog lost it and she's just never replaced it.
another dog we walk is 10 years old, she has only ever had a tag of this nature for the last year. (probably not even that)

don;t get me wrong, it is a good idea, and i will be getting my lad microchipped soon (been meaning to look into it for months, but just never have)

but there are already a lot of issues around microchipping as it is (all of which have already been mentioned in this thread)

i do hope that there will be a line in the legislation somewhere to exempt animals the chips may cause health issues to.

for example, back in 1998, when we had our Missey spayed, we asked about a microchip, but due to her having an allergy to metals, the vet advised not to have her chipped.

The chip is plastic nowadays not metal and about the size of a grain of rice, it is normally inserted between the shoulder blades in the fatty tissue and will cause no harm, both my dogs and all 5 of my cats have had them fitted with no ill effects. I was fortunate to be able to recover one of my lost cats last year due to the chip which otherwise I would not have since the cat had been stolen and abandoned over 40 miles away.

Not seen anything about it coming into line with N.I, just that dog have to be chipped and it will be free.

As been said above, by law, a dog is suppose to have a collar and tag, but many don't a friends friend dog that i go for a walk with now and again.

No harm? Tell that to the peoples who pets have died after having a chip.

It is not going to work anyway, people will ignore the system, they already ignore the collar and tag law, so what makes this any different?

Who is going to check? the money is not around to get someone to check every dog that is out.

Sorry if anyone has lost a pet through chipping but I have never heard of any, I have no option but to chip my dogs and pay a license fee otherwise I might loose my pet and receive a fine but I have no problems with chips or a license as it proves my pets are traceable and in good health, perhaps it will be the illegal dog breeders and people who use pitbulls etc to make money through blood sports who are out of pocket but thats a good thing surely?

they were the early bio glass, or bio plastic coated ones back then, too
but because the chip contained metal parts, the advice wasn;t to risk it
she passed away almost 2 years ago now, so it's no longer an issue for us now to be honest, and as i've mentioned above, my boy will be done at some point.
but the chips still won't agree with every dog, there will still be some who are unsuitable to be chipped.

The annoying thing about chipping, is that we were charged extra to change address of the dog. We have two, so it cost £20. You can them become a 'premium' member or whatever and subsequently change details online, so the first charge is not the only one.