Do you think compulsory microchipping would help improve welfare

Compulsory Microchipping


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competitiondiva

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Cavecanem and myself got into a bit of a debate on another thread about compulsory microchipping and I thought it would be interesting to run a poll.

If compulsory chipping was introduced in my mind it would help towards the stray dog issue, give dogs traceability and if it is mandatory to have breeders details on it (except if rescue), accountability to an extent of the breeder. Whilst I realise we do not live in an equal society and there will be an element that stick two fingers up despite it being compulsory I still think it would overall raise dog welfare in this country and make some breeders think twice about breeding.

I cannot see how doing something that will benefit the dog as being a bad thing....

What do you think, good or bad idea?
 
I don't think it will work.
I don't think there is a budget for it and the real people we want to catch will just not do it.
Same as its the law here that every dog has to have a yearly rabies jab and be licences yearly.
They have 10,000 licenced dogs in western Washington with an estimated 50,000 dogs living here. We have 14 dog wardens for our small area and they still can't keep up with it. If people never take their dogs outside, advertise only places they can't be traced then its impossible.
 
I also don't like that this poll if for or against.

I would 110% be for anything that made the situation better and therefore would be totally for this idea if it would work.
 
Improving traceability is good, the issue is how you are going to enforce it. What would the penalty for an unchipped dog be? Would you have something similar to horse passports, where all foals born after the cut-off point have to be chipped, and any new passports issued for older horses (eg welfare cases) are issued alongside a chip too?

Other measures: education is the key - and get them young. As I understand it children already have classes on personal development and things, so why should part of this not involve basic animal care?

I would like to see a breeding campaign for dogs similar to the one for horses, encouraging people to think before they breed from their dogs. Are they breeding for a purpose, or is it just because they think puppies would be cute?

Vets also have a role to play in promoting welfare, some do and some don't do it. We all know that some vets need to do more. They need to stop coddling clients who think it's ok to have obese dogs, for example. And I would like to see the RSPCA take forward prosecutions on owners of obese animals that refuse to deal with their weight even when they are offered help and advice.

Finally, tougher penalties for puppy farmers.

That would be a start, anyway;)
 
I'm all for it, all my dogs are microchipped and I recommend to all of my new owners that they have their puppy chipped. I don't think it would help with anything other than tracing the dog which is what it's designed for. I don't think it'd do anything to prevent dodgy breeders or anything like.

Echo the above posts really and it's not really enforceable
 
I've not voted because I think its a bit more than being for or against compulsory microchipping. I have tattooed all my litters of pups for years, but if microchipping was made compulsory I very much doubt the people who churn out litters without any thought would bother having pups microchipped. It would be almost impossible to police I would imagine, most dog wardens would tell you they are pretty busy people, and would struggle to find time to track down everyone in their area with a litter of pups.

It would be wonderful if there was a way to control and regulate dog breeding and ownership, but I really don't know what would work.
I think education of children is actually going backwards, I used to take dogs and pups into our local primary school to meet the children and just tell them a little bit about caring for dogs, but the head stopped it because of the h & s risks. :mad:
 
My issue with these compulsory schemes (also licensing) is that it is the responsible owners that get hit and they aren't the ones that are the problem. If you are already breeding irresponsibly or training dogs to fight which is illegal anyway, why on earth would you shell out for microchipping/

Responsible owners and breeders always keep a track on their dogs/puppies anyway (either with tags or microchipping).... making it compulsory won't stop the problems.
 
Possibly this needs looking at from another angle - maybe no animal can be advertised/change hands unless microchipped?

Any accepter of advertisements must take the chip number(s) before publishing the advert.


I chip all of my kittens and I've had people request that I don't chip their kitten - easy, they don't get a kitten.
 
I'm neither for or against.... it would be a good idea however It wouldn't work because the people who generally don't give a crap about their animals and are the ones who are likely to dump them etc arn't exactly going to suddenly start following the law. They just wouldn't bother having it done.... it's just another expense for those genuine animal owners
 
I'm neither for or against.... it would be a good idea however It wouldn't work because the people who generally don't give a crap about their animals and are the ones who are likely to dump them etc arn't exactly going to suddenly start following the law. They just wouldn't bother having it done.... it's just another expense for those genuine animal owners

Agree but surely it's an expense those genuine animal owners would already have done?????

Surely microchipping is already done by responsible people, so by making it compulsory, it won't affect the genuine people???

Whilst it may not result in 100% of all dogs done, it would at least increase the amount by a good percentage and those people looking to breed to make a quick buck would be made to think a little before doing it, due to traceability and accountability. I agree those who breed illegal dogs and do illegal activities won't bother but if it stops or makes people think about breeding before they decide to put their akita to a rotti say because the puppies will be big and cute! And they could sell them for a pretty penny on epupz or similar!!!
 
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