Petplan legal beagle Trevor Cooper has the latest news on legislative changes that could affect cat breeders.
Compulsory cat microchipping and associated issues, as well as Tuk’s law and the licensing of animal rescue centres, are all coming under the spotlight in the months ahead.
Compulsory cat microchips
Looking at the proposed introduction of compulsory microchipping for cats, Trevor Cooper, Petplan’s legal expert, believes once the regulations have been passed there will be a 12-month lead-in to allow time for compliance. This will initially only apply to England but the governments of Wales and Scotland may well follow suit.
Those agencies and charities involved in cat welfare are keen to get the same regulatory requirements for cats as for dog microchips.
‘The challenge will be around enforcement as, without cat wardens, who is going to enforce the law?’ says Trevor. ‘An added complication involves the very nature of cats themselves. How do you establish the difference between a stray, a cat with a large territory that enjoys spending time away from home, a cat with multiple owners or a “community cat”?’
Yet another issue with cats involves collars. By law, when they are out, dogs must have their owner’s details on a tag on a collar. Many cat owners dislike collars for safety reasons and cats are not required by law to wear them.
‘My advice would be don’t wait for the legislation, but get ahead of the game by microchipping your cat now for peace of mind,’ says Trevor.
Microchip law in the UK
This wider consultation includes the proliferation of microchip databases. There are currently more than 17 databases, and the concern has been expressed by some agencies that they are required to embark on a complicated and time-consuming trawl through different databases and make multiple phone calls to find registered keepers. Having a single point of contact would be far more effective and this has been raised by the pet industry.
‘Please do ensure your cat is registered on a compliant database,’ advises Trevor, ‘as if it is not, the law says it is not regarded as being microchipped.’
Tuk’s law and microchip scanning
Microchipping pets has been a huge good news story, and this year it will be in the spotlight thanks to Tuk’s law, currently being considered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Tuk’s law focuses on the call for vets to use a microchip scanner when a healthy pet is brought in for euthanasia, to ensure the person requesting euthanasia has the authority and that the animal rescue centre and owner are informed. Microchips are often inserted as part of the rescue process, along with neutering, spaying and vaccinations, so the details will be those of the original rescue, and the animal can be returned.
As far as the British Veterinary Association is concerned, it is best practice to scan prior to euthanasia.
‘As the situation stands, contacting the rescue centre could be seen as a breach of confidentiality. Establishing that right in law is important; the vet can then act on the information in the scan without having to engage in a difficult situation with whoever is presenting the animal for euthanasia,’ says Trevor Cooper, our legal expert.
The campaign certainly struck a chord with the public, with a petition collecting more than 120,000 signatures in the first five months. Having won the hearts of the public, the campaign must now win the mind of the government which is currently debating Tuk’s law as part of a wider consultation around microchipping of animals and legislation review in England.
Regulation of rescues
Also under consideration is the regulation of rescues, and the consultation was overwhelmingly positive.
‘Scotland already has regulation of rescues in place and I believe England will be next,’ says Trevor. ‘At first glance, addressing poorly run rescues may seem like an obvious positive, but there is a concern about the unintended consequences for small rescue charities which do great work but may not be able to afford costly licensing or the administrative burden of meeting compliance requirements.’
All of these regulatory changes are for the long-term good of the animals, which is what we all want, so let’s show goodwill to make them work.