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Beatričė Vaitiekūnaitė-Pliuskė, Director of the Animal Welfare Initiative (GGI) and Brigita Kymantaitė, Director of the Lithuanian Organization for the Protection and Rights of Animals (CAT) tell the story of how pet tagging is useful for all animal owners.
Flagging pets in Lithuania is not new
The new amendment to the law establishes that by 2021. May 1 Animals brought in, which will include most adult quadrupeds, must be marked by 2022. May 1. After 2021. May 1 animals born must be marked within the 4 months after birth.
However, for breeders, shelters and a large part of the population, labeling is not new, since 2016. The marking of animals and their inclusion in the Pet Registry is mandatory when there is a change of ownership, that is, when the animal is sold, donated or transferred to other owners, as in the case of emigration, illness of the owner, death and others.
“Therefore, both animal breeders who trade in young animals and shelters that transfer or donate adult animals or their young to new owners have already mastered the tagging mechanism, as have the veterinarians who provide this service,” he said. B. Vaitiekūnaitė-Pliuskė.
He noted that some people who have a dog or cat at home tag their animals without compromise, due to the benefits of tagging, many of which are.
Relevant for urban and rural residents
Marking an animal allows it to be reliably identified, which provides more security for both the animal and its owner. The rice-sized chip, which is inserted subcutaneously into the ridge between the shoulders, can be used to find out who the animal belongs to, which is especially helpful when the animal escapes, gets lost, and is relevant to people living in urban and urban areas. rural zones.
“It is a very common misconception that if an animal is kept at home and does not go outside, then a microchip is not necessary. However, these animals that are kept at home or in enclosed areas escape those stories as much as there are advertisements in Internet about missing animals: Cats fall off balconies or run out of front doors, jump out of a car, dogs run after females ruminating, and see a ferret in general challenge.
Even the most responsible owner of an animal can happen to everything, so the microchip is a way to protect against events that nobody plans, but that, unfortunately, happen more frequently than we imagine: animals run away and get lost, which is why we eventually have overcrowded shelters, ”said B. Kymantaitė.
She noted that people have become more attentive, more sensitive to animals, which is good, but at the same time there are more and more situations in which an animal found on the street is housed at home as a person without home or taken to another city. shelter by car. This removes the animal from the house and its owners, perhaps even in another area, and the only reliable way to return it to its rightful owners is a chip that allows the animal to be identified.
“Of course, many people are actively searching for their lost animals: they call or tour the shelters around the country, place ads on the Internet or hang them on the streets. However, there is a very large proportion of the elderly population in both urban and urban areas. rural people who do not use the Internet or simply do not know how to look for a lost pet, so in such cases the tagging of animals would be of great help for a lost animal to return home ”, said the head of the CAT.
Shelters are looking for new owners for the animals, although old ones may still be
“Approximately 15 thousand adult dogs and cats enter Lithuanian shelters every year. Since they are generally not chicks, most of them belonged or still belong to someone, that is, in fact, they are their owners. And if some of those animals are irresponsibly thrown out onto the street, then another difficult part to count is runaway animals that could be returned to their true owners if identified. And now, after the 14 days provided by law, the shelters have no choice but to find new homes for these animals, ”said B. Kymantaitė.
Meanwhile, a microchip that can be scanned with a special scanner by virtually any veterinary clinic or shelter greatly increases the likelihood that a lost and misplaced animal will move home to its true owners. When a stray animal is found, residents are encouraged to take it to a shelter or veterinary clinic, which has the ability to verify the presence of a microchip to identify the owner of the animal.
According to the head of the CAT, the ideal is that animal shelters are temporary instances in which a lost animal is taken from a street where it is not safe, taken to a shelter where it can be identified by a chip and waited for by the owners starters. pick it up safely. However, at this time, with only one other tagged animal entering the shelters, the situation is completely different.
By the way, it is important to know that for the tagging to be effective, the chip must be linked to information about a specific animal and its owner, that is, not only to mark the animal but also to register it in the state mascot. registration (according to a scanner code or just a chip). Here you can see the numerical information about a specific animal). The registration service is provided by the veterinary clinics that mark the animal or can be requested from the territorial subdivisions of the State Food and Veterinary Service.
Protects against theft
B. Vaitiekūnaitė-Pliuskė also draws attention to the theft of animals: “If there is no microchip, it is very difficult to prove who the animal belongs to. There have been cases of this type in Lithuanian judicial practice when people have not recovered their animals. Photos are not enough to show who owns an animal, as both breeding and non-breeding animals can be very similar. Identifying an animal may be of some help unless the veterinarian has visited regularly and is able and willing to take such responsibility. “
The director of the Animal Welfare Initiative, an organization specializing in animal welfare laws, said there are cases where owners find their stolen and illegal pets “protected” themselves, for example hearing masks locked somewhere on a nearby street. So if there is a chip, call the police, it is a strong argument that the animal will be identified.
He noted that microchips are an effective tool for recognizing an animal and when it disappears and is found after a few months or even years: “A well-groomed domestic cat can become unrecognizable after a long time outdoors because it not only fades and changes your whole body drastically, the way you walk, but also the changes in behavior; often he becomes more shy or clumsy, so even the owners can no longer enter ”.
B. Vaitiekūnaitė-Pliuskė noted that microchips are important for financial reasons as well. “For example, owners of rare and expensive breeds are very careful to buy an already marked animal, which partly not only protects against theft, but also helps to recover money, for example, in case of deception, when the puppy sold dies because of the breeder or is not purebred and the like. Traceability of the animal and its owner allows to insure against such cases and recover the money paid. There are also breeds of dogs that, by their nature, are more prone to straying, like the Husky, so their owners are also willing to take the opportunity to tag the animal with a microchip. “
The information was prepared by Elena Nikonovaitė-Dumpienė of the Animal Welfare Initiative to encourage people to protect their pets and take care of the welfare of animals.
