P-06-1283 Introduce the mandatory microchipping of cats in Wales

Petitions4

This petition was submitted by Cats Matter, having collected a total of 854 signatures.

Text of Petition:                    

Microchipping is part of responsible pet ownership and has countless benefits for both cat and owner. If a persons cat becomes lost, stolen or gets injured, a microchip is the best chance for reunification. Microchips are not just beneficial for the cat and owners who love them, but also eases strain on the organisations who have to handle and treat unidentifiable cats.

Cats Protection estimates more than a fifth of cats are not microchipped in Wales, regardless of relentless campaigning.

Additional Information:

We were involved in the UK Bill which ultimately led to the upcoming 2022 England regulations, and continue to work with DEFRA on this as stakeholders yet, due to animal welfare being a devolved issue, unfortunately this will not apply to Wales. The UK Government have now published their response and results of the public consultations, and we would like to see this extended to Wales to help benefit the cats and owners.

Also, a previous successful Senedd petition (P-05-779) of ours saw Wales become the first all scanning nation in the world as all Welsh local authorities opted to scan cats collected. However, this was voluntary action which, since 2017, has since slipped in some areas. We would appreciate the issue of scanning to be re-looked at my the committee.

Status

This petition was considered completed by the Petitions Committee at its meeting on 27/06/2022.

The Committee considered the petition and welcomed the fact that the Welsh Government’s Animal Welfare Plan for Wales 2021-26 includes a commitment to consider mandatory microchipping of cats, and that future changes in relation to scanning and databases will be considered as part of ongoing work with the UK Government. In light of this, Members agreed to close the petition and thank the petitioner.

Full details of the consideration of this petition by the Committee and related documents can be seen on the Meetings tab above. It was first considered by the Petitions Committee on 27/06/2022.

Senedd Constituency and Region

• Clwyd West
• North Wales

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