Cat Microchipping
Compulsory from June 2024
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has announced that, from 10 June 2024, it will be compulsory for owners to microchip their cats by the time they reach 20 weeks’ old and for their contact details to be stored, and kept up-to-date, in a pet microchipping database.
At HFC, we check whether every owned cat and kitten coming into our care already has a microchip implanted and, if not, arrange for them to receive one before they are advertised for re-homing. However, many of the lost cats who come into our care are not microchipped.
We welcome the introduction of compulsory microchipping which will assist all welfare organisations and vets to reunite much-loved, lost cats with their owners and reduce the number of cats needing to be re-homed.
Under the new legislation, owners found not to have microchipped their cat will have 21 days to have one implanted or may face a fine of up to £500. It is therefore important to make sure your cat is microchipped and that details held on the microchipping database are always kept up-to-date.
Credit: The charity Here for Cats