Microchipping cats in England: call for evidence
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
We received 3,140 responses to this call for evidence. Given the overwhelming support for compulsory cat microchipping, with some 99% of respondents supporting the policy, we have launched a full consultation on cat and dog microchipping and scanning in England.
Defra is undertaking a Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the 2015 Regulations in England which will inform decisions on possible changes to the way dog microchipping is regulated. Following the consultation exercise and the PIR, Defra will consider what changes will be required and how best to implement these.
Original call for evidence
Call for evidence description
We’re asking for evidence on the consequences of making owners get their cats microchipped in England. We’re only looking at evidence of the consequences, not opinions on introducing this rule. In particular, we want evidence on:
- the benefits and drawbacks of requiring owners to microchip their cats, including costs
- how microchipping could help fix any nuisance problems
- how microchipping all cats would apply to feral or stray cats
- how we could make the rules, check and enforce them
- experiences with current compliant microchip databases
- any exemptions we should consider to microchipping cats
Documents
Updates to this page
Last updated 23 December 2020 + show all updates
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Added the summary of responses and government response.
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First published.