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Microchipping stats ‘fall far short of the Government’s claim’

Despite the UK Government’s claim this year that 95 percent of all dogs are now microchipped, a new report published by Battersea reveals only 65 percent of strays taken in by Local Authorities across the UK even have a chip fitted and too few of them are up to date.

Battersea research reveals that only 31 percent of all strays have accurate and up-to-date details attached to their microchip so their owners can be traced

The charity is calling for Local Authorities, charities, vets and dog owners to work together to improve this.

While this is a welcome improvement from 45 percent of stray dogs chipped when Battersea ran the same survey in 2016, it ‘falls far short of the Government’s claim’.

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More than 50 Local Authorities also showed that of those dogs with a chip, more than half had out-of-date details, making the chip redundant.

Battersea’s chief executive, Claire Horton, said: “Sable’s story spells out the importance of microchipping and Battersea’s new report shows there’s a lot more work to do to ensure pet dogs are all microchipped.

“Our research shows that when it comes to strays, where microchipping matters most, around a third are still not microchipped at all. Only two-thirds of strays taken in by Local Authorities have a microchip and many of those are registered with completely out-of-date information.

Microchipping your dog is a simple, painless procedure and many Local Authorities and rescue centres, including Battersea, offer it free of charge to all dog owners. It could save you and your dog heartache and distress – without Sable’s microchip, we would never have been able to reunite her with her owners.”

 

 

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