All Dogs in England Must be Microchipped Before 2016

Here's the link to the article. What are your thoughts on this? I think microchipping is very important. If our dog ever got lost, I'd be devastated, so the microchip can be very useful in those cases. We plan to get our dog microchipped during her next vet visit in a few months. Do any of you have your pets microchipped and, if so, has it eased your minds? If you've decided not to microchip, why? I want to make an informed decision.

Quote:Dog owners who refuse to fit Fido with a microchip may someday find themselves fetching a hefty fine, the British government said Wednesday.

I found this news to be very lame.

Dog owners should have a choice in this. Sure some people might find it necessary to have a microchip in their dogs, but what about some other people who do not wish to have it or if they can't afford to have it? It is not the only way to find a lost dog. Why should everyone be forced to microchip their dog? Will the government pay for it? How soon will it become mandatory to microchip our cats, rabbits, ferrets, rodents, lizards, and finally kids and perhaps even ourselves the adults?

Just more government sponsored business for profit I guess.

Wow, this quite honestly makes me sad. We as humans are allowed to make choices for ourselves because we can talk,etc. Now that we have pets that don't have the same abilities as us, so we are forced to make a good decision on their behalf. This "law" is just absurb to me because owners need to have a choice in such a operation even if in the long run it may benefit them. I hope something in this case will change or hopefully someone will speak up on behalf of all pet owners that this should not be a requirement.

My only concern is how this affects the dog. Will it be uncomfortable for her. What if later on in life it will cause tumors or other complications? Granted its useful for us to be able to locate our dogs should they get lost we also have to be fair to them. If their quality of life is compromised we need to think of alternative ways to solve our challenges without causing them discomfort.

In some ways this could be a good thing for all the dogs that get abandoned by their owners at shelters and on the side of the road. If a dog is microchipped, he will be registered to an owner and that owner will be accountable for the welfare of their pet.
It may discourage individuals that go ahead and buy puppies as a Christmas or birthday present because they are cute without really thinking about the long-term responsibility of keeping that dog healthy and happy for many years to come.

At least this way maybe the idiots out there who mistreat and abandon their dogs will think twice before doing so.

I'd have to know more about it but right now I have mixed feelings. I definitely don't like the government forcing anything though. Also, could these microchips be vulnerable to hackers that could do harm to our pets?

It does sound like a prerequisite for microchipping children and....everyone.

I have read that the chips can slide around inside the animal, and once they have done that, apparently the scanner does not pick them up because they are not scanning the correct area; so then the chip actually does no good at all, and could even be uncomfortable for the dog, depending on where it slides to.
Also, even if the vet can scan the chip, if the owner has moved and not kept their information up to date, then there is no way to contact the owner to let them know that the dog has been found. So, if they have given the dog away, and not bothered to change the info with the vet where the pet was chipped, the whole thing is useless.
I do not think that chipping should be required for pets, and I also agree that it simply a step towards marking everyone, and every animal.

I have seen a lot of times where the chip has worked for dogs and they were returned to their families. Then nothing is 100% and that's common sense. Plus I don't know if installing the chip causes any animal diseases and that is something esle to think about too. A lot of times, installing a foreign object to the body upsets the immune system. That can cause a number of diseases to dogs, animals or humans.

Playing DA here. Even if the dog did get a disease that resulted in the installation of the chip, he or she may live longer but suffering the stress from being lost.

Then the bottom line is our governments don't need to decide for us. Dog and pet owners make these decisions for them, not our governments. Geez, we are not robots!

I think because micro chipping is become increasingly popular that this is really not surprising at all. I can see why this law would be put in place and I'm sure ultimately it saves some dogs lives. I know here if a lost dog is found and doesn't have proper ID that it ends up being put down. I do think that a lot of dog owners probably won't like this though since no one really likes to be made to do anything, especially something that costs money.