A new report has recommended that the Scottish government make it mandatory for cat owners to get their pets microchipped, bringing Scotland into line with England.
The call came in a report by the Responsible Ownership and Care of Cats in Scotland report, published in late January by the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC).
This call may have slipped under some people’s radar after first minister John Swinney delivered the dramatic announcement to BBC Scotland that “we have absolutely no intention of banning cats”.
That headline-grabbing comment came after the report suggested curbing the ownership of cats in some nature conservation areas where wildlife could be endangered by them, but, in fact, chipping might make it easier to track the movement of cats when they are allowed outside.
However, for cat owners who have endured the trauma of losing a cat without a chip to help identify them, the call for chipping may be welcomed as a common-sense move. The report noted that while around 70 per cent of Scotland’s cat owners get their pets chipped, the number has not been increasing.
SAWC chair Prof Cathy Dwyer, said this would be a very wise move, not least as a means of helping to prevent the ‘hybridisation’ of domestic cats and wildcats in rural areas, which was another of the major concerns raised by the report.
“A proper database allows us to see where cats have come from and reduce the number of strays and feral cats, which have very poor welfare in Scotland,” she remarked.
In response, a Scottish government spokesperson said the administration already advises that people get their cats microchipped and said it would consider the recommendation for making this mandatory and the other recommendations in the report.
The law in England making chipping compulsory came into force on June 10th, 2024. Anyone failing to do this can be fined up to £500.
