Make vet best practice measures mandatory & honour dual microchip registration.
- Parliament:
- 2017–19
- Signatures:
- 12,234
- Responded:
- 9 Oct 2019
The petition
A young rescue dog had full rescue back up but despite this he was euthanised by an individual who was not registered on his microchip, which did have back up contact details. We request changes that acknowledge that had his microchip been scanned he would have been returned to his back up rescue.
We request that no vet will euthanise or treat an animal in a non emergency situation without; • confirming the registered microchip keeper details match the person presenting the animal •exhausting all options first to save the life of the animal including contacting any rescue that is dually registered on the microchip Also: •All rescue animals microchips to hold back up rescue contact details & the rescue must be contacted prior to euthanasia or if the animal is in a vulnerable situation
The government's response
The BVA and RCVS provide vets with guidance to scan dogs as appropriate. We will consider reform options including whether this should be mandatory as part of an ongoing review.
We agree that no dog should be put down unless there are extenuating reasons for having to do so.
Paragraphs 8.9 and 8.10 of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Code of Conduct provides advice to vets on euthanizing animals when the owner is not present. A link to the RCVS’ Code of Conduct can be found here:
https://www.rcvs.org.uk/setting-standards/advice-and-guidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary-surgeons/supporting-guidance/euthanasia-of-animals/
It is a legal requirement for all owners to microchip their dogs, and to enter the details onto a database. British Veterinary Association (BVA) best practice is that vets should scan dogs on first presentation at their practice, and at other regular intervals including prior to euthanasia, where euthanasia is deemed the appropriate course of action by the veterinary expert. BVA’s website sets out their position on scanning:
https://www.bva.co.uk/News-campaigns-and-policy/Policy/Companion-animals/Microchipping/
The guidance includes advice on what a vet should do if the details of the person presenting the dog are different to what is recorded on the database, and what to do when stray or lost animals are brought to the practice by checking the microchipping databases in order to reunite the animal with their owner.
The Government considers that advice from BVA and RCVS provides veterinary professionals with helpful guidance on conducting appropriate scanning and to protect the welfare of dogs. Ministers will continue to emphasise the importance of vets scanning pet animals when they are first presented to their surgery.