Introduce mandatory measures to prevent reselling/euthanasia of dogs

A healthy dog was euthanised by a Rescue. The registered Rescue Back Up was not contacted/advised of his imminent destruction. Had the vet scanned for a microchip it would have shown the person requesting euthanasia was not the registered keeper. Dual contact details on rescues should be mandatory.

It should be mandatory for vets to scan any dog not registered with their surgery using scanners which detect ALL types of microchip before treating the dog unless treatment is urgent. If asked to euthanise a dog who is not registered the vet should be required to take all reasonable steps to contact the owner. The new measure will protect rescue centre dogs from pet flipping/selling on/euthanasia by enforcing the adoption contract. It will also protect stolen and abandoned dogs whose identity will have to be checked before treatment

It is already good practice for vets and local authorities to scan stray dogs, or dogs where ownership is new or unclear. Microchipping of dogs was made compulsory by The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 (link to 2015 regulations: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/108/contents). We estimate that around 90% of dogs are microchipped and so it is second nature for vets and re-homing centres to scan a dog to check the owner. Microchipping has helped increase the number of lost dogs reunited with their owners and reduced the number of stray dogs as shown by the Dogs Trust’s annual Stray Dogs Survey.

The Government considers that it is not necessary to make scanning of dogs by vets and rescues compulsory as it is already considered good practice for dogs to be scanned at first presentation and this is widely practised throughout the UK. This position is fully supported by professional veterinary bodies and local authorities.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.