Battersea welcomes Government's compulsory microchipping of cats announcement

As a leading animal welfare charity, Battersea today welcomes the Government’s announcement to introduce legislation making the microchipping of pet cats compulsory.

Last year 57% of cats that were brought to Battersea were not microchipped, compared to only 17% of dogs. A lack of microchip makes it much harder for staff to trace an owner. In 2019 Battersea was able to reunite 456 dogs with their worried owners thanks to the pets having accurate microchip details, but only 72 cats due to the far fewer number of felines having a microchip.

Michael Webb, Battersea’s Head of Public Affairs & Policy, said: “Each year Battersea takes in thousands of stray cats at our three centres, many of which were likely to have been much loved pets that simply wandered too far from home. Sadly, a significant number of cats currently arrive with no microchip and therefore no way of tracing an owner or helping the cat return home. Once microchipping a pet cat becomes mandatory, local authorities and rescues like Battersea will be able to reunite thousands more missing cats each year. We therefore hope it will not be long before these new regulations are officially introduced.

“Battersea would urge all cat owners not to wait and to get their pet microchipped sooner rather than later. An up-to-date microchip is the easiest way to get your pet back quickly and safely should they go missing. At Battersea we microchip every cat and dog before they go to new homes.”

Battersea’s Lost Dogs & Cats Line received 1,902 calls about missing pets, and 1,821 calls about stray animals that had been found. Through this system the charity was able to help reunite 345 dogs and cats with their owners.