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PE1938: Introduce compulsory microchipping of cats in Scotland

Petition Summary

Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to:

introduce the mandatory microchipping of cats in Scotland; and
assess the effectiveness of current microchip scanning processes.

Petitioner: Carlie Power

Status: Closed

Date published: 23 May 2022

Click here for the full petition.

SPICe Briefing (167.5KB, pdf) (168KB, pdf) posted 06 March 2023

Committee Meetings

29 June 2022: The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government and to the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission.

Official Report of Meeting 29 June 2022

8 March 2023: The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders on the basis that, the petitioner is satisfied that the Scottish Government’s current approach will adequately address the issue of mandatory microchipping in Scotland's cats, the Scottish Government does not consider that the scanning of microchips should be made compulsory for cats at this time due to concerns about the potential impact on the welfare of cats and veterinary surgeons; and Microchipping domestic cats features in the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s work plan as a medium term issue.

Official Report of Meeting 8 March