Dog Microchipping Off To Good Start
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Putting in a microchip does not hurt the animal. |
The Council’s Animal Control team has got off to a swift start following the Government’s enactment of a law which aims to better identify and manage dogs.
The law says councils must implant a microchip in any dog which is being registered for the first time (mainly pups but also dogs which until now have not been registered — farm working dogs are excluded) and dogs which have been impounded at least once before.
The Council will microchip these dogs free of charge at the Animal Shelter (10 Metro Place in Bromley) between 11am and noon every Friday or as demand requires.
The Council also provides the same service to dog owners who voluntarily want to have their dogs microchipped. The cost is $20 for the first dog and $12 for each subsequent dog.
Dogs classified as dangerous or menacing must also be microchipped. Owners may either have a Council officer do this, again free of charge, or they can take their dog to a vet. These dogs are currently not being microchipped at the Friday sessions but are being done by Animal Control officers by appointment.
If you’ve just moved to Christchurch with a dog that has been registered with another council you do not have to have it microchipped but you do need to register it with the City Council. Putting in a microchip, which is about the size of a rice grain, does not hurt the animal. Whether microchipped or not, the Council must put the details of every dog it knows about on a new National Dog Database. All Christchurch owners of a registered dog (including those on Banks Peninsula) should have received a pamphlet about the changes.
The cost of managing and administering dog licensing in Christchurch is self-funding and the Council has approved a $5 increase for all registrations to cover this funding. |
