Contact Details On Microchips Must Remain Registered For Life #TuksLaw

Rescue Back Up contact details are registered on microchips to protect animals in times of vulnerability. Rescue organisations & responsible breeders who register their ongoing interest are let down by database companies who are changing and/or removing these details without notification/permission

No removal of any keeper without written consent & RBU registration to remain for the lifetime of the animal

Vets/rescues/charities/police to contact RBU registration/keeper on the microchip if an animals life is at risk of euthanasia in a non emergency inc. seized & straying

Vet practices to register RBU on practice databases

Reg. keepers to have access to info on treatment, euthanasia, disposal of bodies

Pet crematoriums to scan & log microchip number prior to cremation for identification

This Government is committed to high standards of animal welfare, including the welfare of dogs. In Defra’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we committed to provide greater assurance that alternatives to euthanasia are explored before a healthy dog is put down (the Tuk’s law principle). We have worked closely with the veterinary profession and jointly agreed to incorporate the principle of scanning before euthanasia in the guidance that underpins the Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) guidance now requires veterinary surgeons to scan for a microchip in dogs prior to euthanasia where, in their professional judgement, it is not necessary to put the dog down on animal health or welfare grounds. The guidance applies to all veterinary surgeons practising in the United Kingdom. Checking the details on the relevant database will alert the vet to anyone else who may have an interest in the animal, such as a rescue centre who has entered rescue back-up information on the database. This will inform a discussion about alternatives to euthanasia.

Under the Microchipping of Dogs Regulations 2015, it is compulsory for owners to microchip their dogs. These regulations also lay down requirements for the details to be recorded on databases and the conditions that must be met by compliant database operators. While some databases offer the possibility of recording Rescue Back Up contact details, it is not a legal requirement for databases to include this functionality.

We are currently carrying out a post-implementation review of the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015 to consider whether improvements can be made to the current regime, including the operation of the databases. We will consider as part of the review whether additional fields should be contained on compliant databases, such as Rescue Back-up and removal of contact details. We will publish proposals later this year.