All Dogs in England Must be Microchipped by 2016 Very positive news for the UK microchip and insurance business. These new regulations have the potential to drive very significant microchip sales in my opinion given PTZ's market share there.
Also given the attach rate of insurance to the microchip product, we should see a nice swing there.
glta
All Dogs in England Must be Microchipped by 2016
By Phyllis M Daugherty, Thu, February 07, 2013
All dogs in England must be microchipped by 2016 under a new law announced by Britain's Environment Department on Wednesday, February 4, 2013. Any owner who does not comply will be subject to a fine of up to £500 pounds (USD $800), according to news.sky.com.
The law will actually go into effect on April 6, 2015, but provides dogowners a grace period until April 6, 2016, to have their dogs implanted with a chip, which is about the size of a grain of rice and is a painless procedure.
The purpose of the new law is threefold: (1) lost or stolen dogs can be more easily united with their owners; (2) the positive identification of the owner will act as a deterrent from abandonment, neglect, abuse or otherwise not providing for the welfare of owned dogs; and (3) microchipping will reduce the numbers of animals entering the shelter and the emotional, physical and financial costs of caring for unwanted/stray animals and trying to either locate the owner or rehome them.
Every year approximately 110,000 dogs are lost or abandoned in the UK, and around half are unidentifiable.The cost to provide sheltering and adoption services by the RSCPA is around £ 60 million per year (USD $94 million,) which is paid by taxpayers and animal charities, according to msnbc.com..
Around 6,000 dogs are put down each year, according to guardian.co.uk. In accomplishing the goals of the new law, it is hoped euthanasia of homeless pets would be significantly reduced.
The Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, said: “I am determined to put an end to this and ease the pressure on charities and councils to find new homes for these dogs."
Microchipping can be done by a private vet, states guardian.co.uk, but the animal welfare charities, Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs Home, and the Blue Cross, will provide a free microchip for any unchipped dog.
The Environment Department says 60 percent of Britain's 8 million pet dogs already have microchips. Horse owners have had to chip their animals since 2009, according to the Associated Press; and many British pet owners have already chipped pet cats and rabbits. Microchipping will remain optional for cats.