From Wednesday, April 6th, all dogs in the UK over the age of eight weeks must be micro-chipped and registered on an authorised database, as part of attempts to tackle irresponsible dog ownership. These micro-chips - the size of a grain of rice - will contain a range of data including; contact details of the current keeper, a description of the dog, and unique ID numbers.
Micro-chipping generally costs £15-£40 when carried out by a vet, but a number of charities are offering to do this for free, or in return for a donation. The cost of having a dog chipped usually includes the initial registration fee, but a small charge may apply when updating details on the database.
If your dog is found not to have a micro-chip, or that details on the database are incorrect, you will be given 21 days to comply with a legal notice before receiving a £500 fine. Beyond this, authorities will have the power to seize a dog and chip it at the owner's expense.
Compulsory micro-chipping will help reunite lost or stolen dogs with their owners and allow authorities to directly identify dog owners and hold them accountable for their dog's behaviour or where there are concerns about animal welfare.
Dog owners who let their animals loose in the countryside have been responsible for the deaths and injury of hundreds of Scottish livestock in recent times.
Figures obtained from Police Scotland last summer, under a Freedom of Information request show that over the previous five years, on average, there had been around 100 cases of livestock worrying in Scotland, where the incidents have been reported to the police. In total there had been 566 cases over the 5-year period recorded, and the problem is significantly under-reported.
While dead or badly mutilated sheep can often be the result, there are also hidden losses as a result of pregnant sheep miscarrying as a consequence of the extreme stress of being chased by a dog or dogs.
Owners of dogs that have worried livestock can be fined under the Dogs (protection of livestock) Act 1953. In extreme cases, Section 9 of the Animal Act 1971 gives the farmer the right to shoot a dog attacking or worrying livestock. More importantly, under Section3 owners of dogs caught killing or injuring livestock are liable for compensating the damage - and that's where micro-chipping will prove to be a very useful tool. It might finally persuade all dog owners to keep their dog on a lead when in the countryside.
Irresponsible dog owners are a real problem for farmers. Apart from worrying livestock there is also the vexatious issue of dog fouling. Under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 it is an offence for the person in charge of a dog not to remove its faeces from any public open places, unless having reasonable excuse or relevant permission. This act specifically exempts agricultural land, including grazing land - meaning there is no legislation requiring dog owners to remove faeces when walking their dogs in these areas.
Now that I have retired and live in a town I know how easy it is to inadvertently step on dog dirt, and how offensive it is.
Now I don't want to rant on about how people who live in towns and cities should not be allowed to have pet dogs. I firmly believe there is only justification for keeping working dogs, like guide dogs, guard dogs, police dogs, sniffer dogs, sheep dogs and the like - but I will reserve comment on that particular topic for another day. Suffice to say, that while dog fouling in public places or the countryside is offensive, it has consequences other than dog dirt on your footwear for farmers.
Dogs can be infected and act as carriers of a disease known as Neospora caninum which is a parasite passed in their faeces. Bovine neosporosis is the most frequently diagnosed cause of bovine abortion and accounts for more than a quarter of all cattle miscarriages in Scotland.
The economic impact of the disease involves significant losses due to abortion, premature culling, reduced milk yields and reduced weaning weight.
Another disease transmitted in dog faeces is sarcocystosis which can be responsible for neurological disease and death in sheep.
That's why NFUS is calling for legislative change to have agricultural land incorporated into the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 so that the "poop is scooped" everywhere.
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