Dogs, and a microchip in their shoulder

New legislation on the micro-chipping of dogs will be introduced later this week, resources and rural affairs minister George Pullicino announced.

The microchip will allow dogs, and their owners, to be identifiable if the dog are lost or abandoned.

Laws already exist binding owners to register their dogs with the Police, but only 5,000 of the 100,000 dogs in Malta are actually registered.

Currently, owners should be paying €2.33 per year for a dog licence. Micro-chipping will involve a one-time expense of €10 for neutered dogs, and €20 for dogs that are not neutered. The cost will be cheaper than renewing the licence for a dog whose lifespan is approximately ten years.

“It is not only the welfare of dogs that is of concern, but also of public health. Dogs, especially strays, are carriers of disease, particularly sandfly which can also affect humans,” minister George Pullicino.

“Strays also tend to travel in packs and become aggressive towards people and their pets,” he said.

Chief vet Dr Anthony Gruppetta said that there is already a national livestock database that includes a section for registering dogs, and any dogs that are micro-chipped will be included in this section.

“The microchip is as small as grain of rice, and is inserted in between the shoulders in a painless procedure,” Gruppetta said.

The dogs have the microchip inserted in the shoulders so they can be identified all over the world. The microchip will have the dog and owners’ details.

After one year of the introduction of the law, random checks will be carried out on dogs, and if found not to be micro-chipped owners will incur of €300. Eventually the micro-chipping campaign will also include cats.

Owners must also inform officials of change of ownership of dogs, or in case of death.