Please note: The following questions and answers are provided for general information only, may not cover every circumstance, and are no substitute for legal advice.
What are the Microchipping of Dogs Regulations 2015?
They are Regulations made under the Irish Animal Health & Welfare Act 2013 that require all dogs to be microchipped and registered to a database. They were signed in March 2015 and came into force on 1st June 2015.
We strongly recommend that all implanters, breeders and dog owners read these Regulations carefully, and familiarise themselves with the new requirements.
What does microchipped mean?
For the purposes of the Regulations, a dog is only classed as microchipped when a compliant microchip has been implanted, and the required owner and pet details have been registered to a compliant dog microchip database.
Compliant microchips must be FDX-B microchips with a unique 15-digit number, compliant with ISO 11784/11785, and must generate a manufacturer code that has been certified by ICAR.
petDetect Trovan microchips are compliant for this purpose.
What databases are compliant?
Currently, a list of dog databases is published on the Irish Department of Agriculture’s website.
Any dog database holding pet and owner details against a microchip implanted in a dog, must meet minimum requirements set out in the Regulations, one of which is that they must be a member of Europetnet.
What about the UK database Petlog, are they compliant?
Petlog are not a compliant database for the Irish Regulations.
We recommend the Irish Kennel Club dog identification database. They can register both pedigree and non-pedigree dogs, and we have partnered with them to be able to offer training to non-veterinary implanters wishing undertake compliant training to enable them to implant dogs within the Republic of Ireland.
When does microchipping become a legal requirement in the Republic of Ireland?
?All puppies born after 1st June 2015 must be microchipped by 12 weeks of age.
?All dogs to which S.16(1) of the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 applies must be microchipped from 1st September 2015.
?All dogs must be microchipped from 31st March 2016.
No puppy or dog may be sold, rehomed, or acquired without being microchipped.
What details must be entered in on the dog microchip database?
The unique microchip number, the date of implantation, the dog’s date of birth, a description of the dog, e.g breed, colour, sex of the dog, address of premises where the dog is normally kept, the name, address and contact details of the owner, and if necessary, the person who is normally in possession of the dog and the identity of the implanter must all be recorded. If required, details of the death of the dog and details of the loss of any dog must also be recorded.
My dog is already microchipped and registered to a database, do I need to have another one inserted?
No, as long as the microchip is technically compliant. However, owners may need to arrange for the microchip to be registered with one of the compliant dog databases, and/or for the required details as stated above to be updated. Unfortunately, dogs registered with Petlog will not be compliant, and owners should seek to register their details with a compliant database listed on the DAFM website.
Do I still need a dog licence?
Yes.
Why isn’t the dog licence attached to the microchip?
While the two systems could potentially be linked in the future this is not currently the case. Private and NGO based dog microchipping databases have been operating successfully for over a decade in Ireland. It would require a significant change in IT architecture both for these databases and local authorities. It also raises significant legal issues under Data Protection legislation.