SCOTS dog owners are among the most reluctant in the UK to get their pets microchipped.
Vets estimate that a quarter of dogs north of the border have not had a chip embedded – a quick, cheap and painless procedure that allows lost animals rapidly to be identified.
Only the West Midlands has a lower rate of microchipping, according to the British Veterinary Association (BVA).
Microchips, the size of a grain of rice and costing up to £40, are implanted under the skin of pets in a simple procedure, allowing vets or shelters to identify owner’s contact information if they are lost.
The implants will be compulsory after a new law comes into effect in Spring 2016.
BVA president John Blackwell said: “We are very pleased that microchipping will be mandatory in every country in the UK by Spring 2016.
“But with the vast majority of vets estimating that a quarter of dogs are unchipped there is no room for complacency.
“We know there is a job of work to be done in fishing out those unchipped dogs and helping owners take action to ensure that they not only comply with the law but that they protect their much loved pet.”
