Question reference: S6W-25875
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 29 February 2024
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Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 11 March 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that there are 15 separate dog microchipping databases that are compliant with the UK Government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and that every dog in the UK must be microchipped once they are eight weeks old, what discussions it has had with DEFRA regarding having a UK-wide microchipping database, and what the estimated cost is of the Scottish Government developing a standalone Scottish database to enable the traceability of all dogs and their owners and/or breeders in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the benefits of having a single point of access to microchipping data to aid with the identifying and reuniting owners and their pets and Scottish Ministers remain committed to working jointly with other administrations where it is both sensible and logical to do so in the interests of animal welfare.
Officials had discussions with DEFRA and other UK administrations regarding the possibility of a single UK-wide microchipping data base and other possible database reforms when Defra consulted on microchipping in 2022. We have not costed a Scotland-only database as we are seeking a consistent UK approach to database reform.
The Microchipping of Dogs Regulations (Scotland) 2016 requires database operators to provide and share information with persons authorised by Scottish Ministers or a local authority.