In the UK, all dogs must be microchipped by law. Microchipping is now also a legal requirement for cats in England, but this is still optional if you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. But what is microchipping and how do microchips work?
A pet microchip is a simple chip that holds important information about your dog or cat – including its name and crucially your contact details. These are standard silicon microchips, but they’re contained in a small capsule that protects the chip and its data.
There’s no power source in the microchip that is inserted under your pet’s skin. Instead, these devices work using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. That means you need a chip finder to activate the microchip and read the details it contains.
These microchips and their capsules are completely inert and made from materials that are completely safe for your pet. They usually last the lifetime of an animal, so only need to be inserted once.
Inserting a microchip into a pet is a simple process carried out using a needle, much like an injection. Your vet or another qualified professional will be able to do this for you and provide you with the details of the database that your pet’s microchip is attached to.
You’ll be given the unique identification number for your pet’s microchip once it’s inserted and you can use this to log into the relevant database and add your contact details.
It’s essential that you keep your contact details up to date on the database, so that if your pet goes missing, it can be safely returned to you once found.
Microchips are a more reliable form of identification than a collar or tag, which can easily be lost, removed or damaged. Because you need a specific microchip reader to access the information on your pet’s microchip, it’s also more secure than a tag which can be read by anyone.
