Microchipping cats could become a legal requirement

A law forcing cat owners to microchip their animals is moving closer. According to reports, legislation is expected to move forward in a matter of weeks.

MPs have considered a petition calling for drivers who hit cats to be required to stop. It is something that animal welfare organisations such as Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Blue Cross have campaigned for.

The Guardian quoted transport minister Richard Holden as saying that the best way to reunite owners with dead pets would be through microchipping.

The outlet reported him as having said: “Cats tend to roam unaccompanied and are likely to go out at night. Drivers also may not realise that they have had a collision with a cat in some instances, or small animals very similar to rabbits or other wild animals, which can also cross roads late at night.

“There are also hazards associated with stopping to check whether animals are alive or not, especially if they are very small animals. Having the law to make it a requirement to report road collisions involving a cat would be difficult to enforce, especially when, as members across the House made clear, Petplan have suggested it might be in terms of hundreds of thousands of these incidents being brought forwards a year.”

Microchips for pets are generally the size of a grain of rice and are inserted painlessly under the skin. If an animal is killed, hurt, or lost, the chip can be scanned to reveal the owner's details. It is already a legal requirement to microchip dogs. The penalty for not doing so within 21 days of being asked to do so by a local council is £500.

Currently, drivers are required by law to stop and report incidents of hitting livestock or working animals. This can include horses, cattle and dogs.

The Guardian quoted Conservative MP James Daly as saying that changing the law would be simple. He told MPs: “You simply add a word into legislation, which is ‘cat’. Then we achieve what has been said. Much as we all love goats, we shouldn’t be differentiating in respect of animals on value.”