New legislation set to improve the safety and welfare of cats in England

Since 2016, it has been a legal requirement for dogs to be microchipped in the UK and that the keepers contact details are kept up to date on a Department for Enivronment, Food and Rural Affairs-compliant (Defra) database. From 10 June 2024, it will be compulsory that owned cats in England are microchipped and registered in the same way (Defra, 2023).

The PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report (2023) revealed that 24% of UK adults own a cat. 75% of cats were microchipped, as opposed to 90% of dogs. Worryingly, 62% of cat owners (5.1 million cats) whose cat has been microchipped do not know what database their cat's microchip is registered on (PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report, 2023). This indicates two areas which require attention: providing the opportunity for keepers to have their cats implanted and providing clear instructions about how to check which database the cat is registered on.