Microchipping cats to become mandatory

[RustyBear]

The Queen's Speech has included an intention to make microchipping cats mandatory - not sure whether this is for all of the UK just England.

Background in this article from the Guardian last month:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/apr/15/plans-for-compulsory-microchips-for-cats-amid-rise-of-thefts-in-uk

Mine got done so they could use their microchip catflap. Stops other cats coming in too

Good.

Good it’s about time.

So what happens to the moggy stray who moves in? £500 fine when it isn't officially your cat?
How will the man in the cat detector van know that TC isn't my cat?

More to the point - if all cats have to be microchipped, this gives a great excuse to euthanise those which aren't.

Why euthanise? Cats that are found and not chipped could be taken to rescues for rehoming. Similar happens with dogs.
Cats shouldn’t simply move in. Either it’s yours and you get it chipped and pay all other bills. Or it isn’t.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats

So what happens to the moggy stray who moves in? £500 fine when it isn't officially your cat? How will the man in the cat detector van know that TC isn't my cat?

I doubt anyone will be proactively detecting unchipped cats. (Boggling at what technology could be employed to make a 'cat detector van')

I don't know how they'd enforce this either. I'd someone going to go around checking cats for microchips?
I suppose the vet could report you - though we never take our cat to the vet
She is microchipped though, for her cat flap.

The article said it's mainly to help with reducing cat thefts. I guess the point is that if you sell someone a cat they are likely to get the chip checked / want it transferred to them and so it would be detected then if the seller hadn't chipped it or it was chipped and the details didn't match.

Mine are all chipped.
They go out and don't wear collars so if something happens at least if taken to the vets, it'll come up that they have an owner.

Mine are all chipped, it has been mandatory for equines for a while. In reality no one checks unless there is a stray animal. They can also migrate so sometimes even when you know a horse was chipped you can’t find it!

Cat detector van - see Monty Python.
They have very good microphones to hear the loud purr of a happy cat.

Cats shouldn’t simply move in.
But sometimes they do - I got my first cat this way and he only became mine when he needed veterinary treatment for an injury.

Why euthanise? Cats that are found and not chipped could be taken to rescues for rehoming
You clearly have a much higher level of trust in the government than I do.

Why euthanise? Cats that are found and not chipped could be taken to rescues for rehoming

What happens to cats now anyway? Presumably chipped cats are likely to be reunited with their owners, the only thing that will have changed is that hopefully this will apply to more of them and so the cat rescues will be under less pressure.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats the government? I don’t think Boris will be dealing with cats.
At the moment dogs handed in are scanned for a chip. Held for 7 days then they can be rehomed.
Microchipping cats would help prevent nutters who “rescue” (steal) cats who do have an owner.
And no. Cats shouldn’t simply move in. If you believe a cat has no home then you need to do everything you can to establish that it is in fact a stray. And yes. That should include getting it to a vet for a chip check. I’m assuming you don’t vaccinate and treat for parasites then?

It's a great law, but how will it be policed?

@Wolfiefan
the government? I don’t think Boris will be dealing with cats.
The Government is suggesting a fine of £500 for owning an 'unregistered' cat, so they clearly are taking an interest.

I’m assuming you don’t vaccinate and treat for parasites then?
Well that would be a fallacious assumption.
I'm sure you are aware, as a regular poster here, that my cats are all chipped (ex Battersea) and yes I do have them vaccinated, (but I don't judge people who don't.)

To clarify I simply disagree with you that cats should be compulsarily chipped with the data being available to the government in order to extort fines.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats

More to the point - if all cats have to be microchipped, this gives a great excuse to euthanise those which aren't.

Fucking hell. Why?! Jesus christ almighty

Dh says Gove is the animal lover.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats the fine would be to deter people from not chipping cats.
Chipped cats can be reunited with an owner.
They can be identified in case they are taken/adopted etc.
Why wouldn’t you??

@Fluffycloudland77 I’m quite disturbed by that idea.
#notaGovefan.

Cats without homes aren't necessarily euthanised now, even without chips.

For feral colonies, there are trap and release programs that spay/neuter cats and nick their ears before letting them go. Chipping them at the same time shouldn't be a problem.

Single feral cats are currently chipped and placed with people who have barns or outbuildings.

I'm sure that some cats do have to be euthanised, but I certainly don't think that's anyone's aim.

If you were crazy enough to steal a cat, presumably you might be crazy enough to remove the chip? I could always feel my cats’ chips and a relaxed cat and a quick nick with a razor blade and I reckon l could have had it out, had I been so inclined/desperate/crazy

@ShockOche my mother’s neighbour isn’t exactly a thief. But she feeds and then “adopts” cats that already have owners.
It’s bloody awful.

In Ireland it's compulsory to chip dogs , nobody really enforces it though and I would guess that this will be the same. Both my cats here in the UK are chipped by the way. Got them done when they were neutered.

This thread is a bit 'tin foil hat'
It's been law to chip dogs for years now - no one is selling data to the government

It means that breeders must chip puppies (and soon kittens) prior to rehoming them. As will all rescue centres.

This massively helps to reduce numbers of lost pets who cannot be reunited with their owners.