# 'All' UK dogs maybe forced to get microchips ...



## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

*http://www.ottawasun.com/news/world/2010/03/09/13165871.html
**
UK dogs may get microchips*
By Raphael G. Satter, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

_LONDON — British dog owners may be forced to microchip their pets and take out insurance, part of a proposed crackdown on the country’s dangerous canines. _
<dl class="articleImage"><dt>







The British government have launched a new proposal which requires that all new dog owners fit their pets with microchips and that canine insurance is made compulsory. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) </dt></dl>_Postmen are delighted, but civil libertarians grumble that Britain’s sprawling surveillance state now wants to track the nation’s estimated 8 million dogs. Others complain that the insurance plan would impose a financial penalty on innocent pet owners — while criminals who own violent animals will simply shirk the law. _
_“This is yet more surveillance and continuous data-grabbing by government who want to have as much information on us as it can possibly have,” said Dylan Sharpe, a campaigner with privacy rights group Big Brother Watch. Opposition lawmaker Nick Herbert said the proposal risked “penalizing millions of law-abiding dog owners with the blunt instrument of a dog tax.” _
_The government’s proposals are aimed at tackling the growing problem of aggressive canines being used to harass, attack and even kill. In a country where guns are tightly controlled and even carrying a kitchen knife can result in a prison sentence, animal rights experts and politicians say street thugs have turned to dangerous-looking dogs to cow their victims. _
_The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the number of complaints about dog fights had soared 10-fold between 2004 and 2008, the last year for which figures were available. In 2009, London Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse called for action on what he called “weapon dogs.” _
_His opposition Conservative Party says hospital admissions and court cases relating to dangerous dogs have soared. _
_High profile dog attacks — including one on John-Paul Massey, a 4-year-old who was mauled to death by a pit bull at his grandmother’s house in the northern England — have also kept the issue high on the media’s agenda. _
_Home Office Secretary Alan Johnson said there was “no doubt that some people breed and keep dogs for the sole purpose of intimidating others.” _
_“It is this sort of behavior that we will not tolerate; it is this sort of behavior that we are determined to stop,” he said. In television appearances defending the proposals, he said microchipping would help trace the owners of dogs involved in attacks, while insurance would ensure that victims of dog attacks were properly compensated for any injuries. _
_His proposals were largely welcomed by animal welfare groups, including the RSPCA, which said it had long supported chipping — primarily as a means of reuniting lost pets with their owners. _
_She described the devices as “tiny microchips, about the size of a grain of rice, painlessly inserted into the back of the dog.” _
_The chips are easily readable by scanners used by dog wardens and veterinarians. _
_Postal workers and telecom engineers also cheered the proposals, with the Communication Workers Union saying many of its members “are regularly bitten by dogs that have been either left unattended or are simply not under control.” _
_Caroline Kisko, of Britain’s Kennel Club, said previous legislation had proven ineffective at controlling the country’s dangerous dogs — and expressed the hope that any new rules would put a greater emphasis on animal welfare. _
_Still it was unclear when — or even if — Johnson’s plans could become law. The proposals must undergo a consultation period — typically 12 weeks — which means they’re unlikely to reach Parliament before Britain’s general election, which must be called by June 3. _
_A host of European countries — including Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Italy and Portugal — have introduced mandatory microchipping rules in the past few years, with nary a raised eyebrow. France requires that some breeds either be chipped or tattooed. Even in countries where the practice isn’t required, cities such as Berlin and Prague demand that dog owners chip their pets. _
_Mandatory dog insurance, regardless of the breed, is already in place in parts of Germany and Switzerland. _


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## Geoff Empey (Jan 8, 2008)

That's one mighty scary Jack Russel there I'm shakin' in me boots!


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## Paul Fox (May 25, 2009)

Geoff Empey said:


> That's one mighty scary Jack Russel there I'm shakin' in me boots!


That maybe because some of the online news reports I read showed a GSD in the picture. It has pissed a lot of GSD people from what I read on the various boards.

Maybe some pressure was put on the press to be a bit more “balanced” in their reporting lol.


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## Tanith Wheeler (Jun 5, 2009)

The problem is that it's the irresponsible owners causing the problems and they are the people who won't bother to microchip or insure their dogs. It just penalises the good dog owners.](*,)](*,)](*,)](*,)


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## Andrew Rowley (Nov 3, 2008)

I cant wait to see this enforced. So when i walk my dog in the green rolling hills some pcso is going to jump out of the bushes with his scanner....
As allready said the gang bangers wont abide by this law, and what will the penalty be? Total load of tosh.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Reminds me of the attempts at "All firearms should be registered" over here.
The bad guys are gonna cause a traffic jam waiting in line to register their guns. ](*,)


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## Gerry Grimwood (Apr 2, 2007)

Bob Scott said:


> Reminds me of the attempts at "All firearms should be registered" over here.
> The bad guys are gonna cause a traffic jam waiting in line to register their guns. ](*,)


The biggest problem with gun control, aside from the fact it's based on communism..is that it becomes an industry and is protected by government unions, very hard to get rid of.

Like going to a whore house to get rid of an std.


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## Drew Peirce (Nov 16, 2006)

Is there any freedoms that HAVENT been taken away in the UK ?


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## Tanith Wheeler (Jun 5, 2009)

Well you can still think what you like - 'til next week, then they'll take that away too.


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## Tanith Wheeler (Jun 5, 2009)

For the brits....

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/dangerous-dogs/index.htm

Defra's online consultation about the proposed changes - get your opinions in now because the anti-dog parade won't hesitate.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

In the States, particularly if you live in city limits, most require you to license your animal with the city or they will fine you extra if your dog happens to be picked up by animal control. Is that true in the UK as well?


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## Tanith Wheeler (Jun 5, 2009)

Licensing fees were abolished by the uk back in the 70s? (before I was born anyway).
It was uninforceable, people didn't always pay it and other than having your dog picked up by the dog warden no one would ever know.

If your dog is loose in a public place the dog warden can pick it up, if you don't claim it in 7 days the dog becomes the property of the local authority. There is a fine for the dog being picked up and you are charged for each day it is held prior to you getting it.

There is also no mandatory vaccination requirement within the country, so we don't have that aspect of licensing either.


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## maggie fraser (May 30, 2008)

Maren Bell Jones said:


> In the States, particularly if you live in city limits, most require you to license your animal with the city or they will fine you extra if your dog happens to be picked up by animal control. Is that true in the UK as well?


It used to be mandatory for all dogs to be licensed here but they found it too difficult to enforce so it was scrapped.... at least I think that's what happened.

This proposed legislation at the moment at least, relates only to England and Wales and not Scotland or N Ireland, the main fire at the the minute seems to be the problems they're having in the London area. At the moment, it's still very legal and usual in Scotland for dogs to be off leash when out as long as they are under reasonable control, we don't have dog parks and the like here, you can even take the dogs out on beaches all year round.

Problems are also spilling over from Ireland where a designated list of dogs, I can't remember all the breeds but the gsd and rottie are in there, in that they must wear a muzzle when out in public.

They're doing their very best to criminalise dog owners, but I can't see them wearing it in Scotland.


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Ah okay, that makes sense then. I can see both sides to this. On one hand, the state of Louisiana apparently has a mandatory microchipping law for horses. I don't recall the exact numbers, but there were something like 50ish stray horses found after Hurricane Katrina and the owners were found in all the horses except one. It also may save tax payers the cost of housing stray animals and euthanizing them if the owner can be found right away. So there may be some good reasons to do it. 

On the other hand, in the States, there are multiple companies, which can make reading certain ones or imported chips difficult. There would really need to be a universal chip or universal reader. They also can migrate and just about the whole trunk should be carefully scanned. Some companies also charge like $25-30 for the chip, but also charge almost as much just to register it, so many don't bother or forget to (been there, done that!). And as in the States, the only way you can really enforce it is if the dog gets picked up and the owner shows up to claim it if it didn't have the chip.


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## Tanith Wheeler (Jun 5, 2009)

We had a neglected gsd found abandoned - it had a series of gaping wounds in the back of its neck. Vet's opinion is that they were made by a blade by a person trying to locate and remove a microchip - they suceeded and were never traced.

For that reason mandatory microchipping does not work.


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