Petlog has released the results of research to discover what dog owners know about microchipping and the upcoming change in legislation which will make chipping compulsory from 2016.

The survey was conducted amongst 1000 people in May. 46% of those that own dogs were unaware that microchipping is to become compulsory. Of the 54% that did know about the new legislation, only about 20% knew that it comes into force in 2016.

The survey revealed a surprising lack of understanding about how microchips work. 14.85% of dog owners - which would amount to more than 1M people in the UK - thought a microchip acted as a GPS device.

Half of all pet owners did not know whether the contact details on their pet's microchip record are up to date.

Petlog conducted the survey as part of National Microchipping Month which takes place this June. The awareness campaign has been running for 10 years now, to raise the profile of pet microchipping and its benefits and also to educate pet owners about how it works, the need to keep contact details up to date and how to make the most from a database.

Celia Walsom, Petlog Executive said: "Raising awareness about microchipping was our first priority when we began National Microchipping Month in 2004, but now we want to ensure pet owners fully understand exactly how the microchip works, that they need to keep their contact details up to date and of course are aware of what is happening in regards to legislation.

"Microchipping is the most popular form of permanent identification, and has reunited hundreds of thousands of pets and owners in the UK since it was introduced here over twenty years ago, and yet pet owners do not seem to fully understand how the microchip works and why it is so important to keep their contact details up to date.

"Worryingly the research found that around 12% of pet owners wrongly believe that the microchip acts as some sort of GPS device, or can stop a pet from wandering a certain distance. It is important that people understand how a microchip works so that they know how to make the most of it.

"We also need pet owners to understand that they need to keep their contact details up to date as it becomes a lot harder and slower, if possible at all, to reunite pets when contact details become outdated."

Talking about Petlog's annual campaign, Animal Welfare Minister, Lord de Mauley said: "I fully support National Microchipping Month. Campaigns like this are important in showing dog owners that microchipping is a safe, easy and quick procedure that can save owners a lot of potential heartbreak if their dogs stray. With Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and Blue Cross all offering free microchipping, there is no excuse for dog owners not to chip their dogs before the April 2016 deadline."

To find out more about National Microchipping Month and events that are taking place in your area, visit www.nationalmicrochippingmonth.org.uk.

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