Chip in for mates

DIANE and her two dalmatians are a familiar sight on Te Awamutu streets. She walks eight-year-old Meg and nine-year-old Zack most mornings through the business area. She welcomes new micro-chipping legislation. While it is not necessary for her (already registered) dogs to be microchipped, she had the procedure performed last week out of choice. “It was something we wanted to do three years ago, but with no scanners available to read the chips it was pointless.” 150061AD

Some hate it - WDC safety manager says micro-chipping canine companions great move

By Grant Johnston

The Government’s micro-chipping of dogs policy has been labelled ’barking mad’ by some dog owners. Interest groups, including Federated Farmers, continue to lobby Parliament to scrap the legislation on the basis that it is ‘draconian bureaucracy’ that resents unfair compliance costs.

But Waipa District Council environmental safety manager, Jennie McFarlane sees more positives than negatives in the new legislation to be introduced on July 1 - part of the move to a new National Dog Database.

She says much of the consternation is from people who own multiple dogs, who do not realise it will only be compulsory for dogs not previously registered and for dogs classified as dangerous or menacing.

Farmers have complained loudly on the basis that their dogs do not roam or cause a menace.

“This might be the case where there are very large farm holdings, but it is not our experience, particularly with so many smaller lifestyle blocks in Waipa,” Mrs McFarlane says. She says two farm dogs were recently destroyed in Waipa because their owner could not be found.

Mrs McFarlane says she accepts that both registering and micro-chipping could be expensive for some owners once the legislation comes into force in just over a month. Her advice is for people who do have to have their dog micro-chipped to shop around.

“We were advised by one local vet that he would do it for $20 where the dog was already in the clinic for another procedure,” Mrs McFarlane says. “The micro-chip only has a cost of $9 to $12, but the dogs have to be scanned before (to make sure they do not already have a micro-chip) and after. The value to owners if the micro-chip is able to be used to help return a lost or stolen dog to its home would obviously be much greater.”

Waipa District dog pounds will have scanners capable of reading the required chips from July 1.

“Waipa animal control staff are micro-chipping our own dogs for peace of mind,” Mrs McFarlane says.

Meanwhile, Associate Local Government Minister, Nanaia Mahuta says the government is committed to working with all local authorities to ensure that new dog control laws are phased in as smoothly as possible.

“We want to ensure that councils have enough time to fully understand their obligations under the new law – of which micro-chipping is only one small part – and to make this transition as smooth as possible. The new measures actually give councils more power to deal with dangerous, threatening, lost or problem animals – as well as give greater certainty about ownership by linking animals with their rightful owners. For this reason, a number of councils, particularly those in urban areas with large dog populations, have embraced the changes,” Ms Mahuta says.

“With the changes only applying to dogs newly registered after July 1, the financial impact of these changes will be felt gradually as only new dogs are registered. Micro-chipping is also a one-off cost, and it is likely that as technology improves, these costs will come down over time.”