News Latest New law means all owners must chip in to register pets. | New law means all owners must chip in to register pets. |
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| Written by Poodle AnticsŪ | |
| Thursday, 24 April 2008 | |
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New pet owners will have to microchip their dogs and desex their cats at three months starting from next week.
The ACT Government's new pet laws come into force on May 1 and will regulate registration, microchipping and desexing. Under the new laws, all dogs must be micro chipped by 2011. Territory and Municipal Services Minister John Hargreaves said the laws brought the ACT in line with Victoria and NSW. He said compulsory microchipping would allow animal services to quickly reunite lost dogs and owners. "If all the dogs in town are micro chipped it means that someone can be notified within 24 hours of the dog' retrieval and they can come and get him or her," he said. Under the new laws cat owners must apply for "multiple cat" licences if they have more than three cats in their households. A similar regulation already exists for dog owners. The legislation also forces owners to desex their cats at three months rather than six months. Mr Hargreaves said this would help prevent litters of unwanted kittens. "People will give kittens for Christmas and not for life, and instead of people doing the right thing they abandon the kittens, they set them loose on the highway, stick them in a plastic bag and chuck them in a pond," he said. "We just have far too many kittens euthanased because they just can't find a home." The legislation also terminates annual dog registration. Instead, dogs will receive a oneoff lifetime registration costing $40. Mr Hargreaves said the laws would encourage would-be pet owners to take their responsibilities seriously. "It also assures us that we know the dog will be looked after," he said. RSPCA president Michael Linke welcomed the laws but said there was more to be done. "The microchipping and identification is a great move but what we need is an awareness campaign so that people don't think that just because they've microchipped their pet that's it," he said. "There's a number of other domestic animal companion issues in Canberra; the Government has addressed three small issues and we would hope this isn't the end of it." Mr Linke said the RSPCA would also monitor the number of stray kittens coming into the shelter over the next few years to see ifthe desexing program had any effect. More information on the new laws is at: FAQ in PDF format can be found here. SOURCE:Canberra Times, Thursday April 24th, 2008 |
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