Warning to protect dogs from being put down
The Dogs Trust says thousands of dogs that go missing are not micro-chipped.
At least 12 dogs face being put to sleep every day because of owners who fail to keep their microchip details up to date.
Figures revealed on by Dogs Trust show that around 37,000 lost and abandoned dogs were taken into local authority kennels last year - 5,500 of those in Manchester.
They also showed that one in eight of them are pets who cannot be returned because outdated microchip information means their owners cannot be traced.
These 4,732 dogs, which equate to 12 per day or one every two hours, risk being destroyed.
The charity found, in an annual survey taken among local authorities across the UK, that 3,463 stray dogs were put to sleep between April 2015 and March 2016, while a further 37,283 remained unclaimed in kennels. But it also found that the total number of stray dogs handled in the last year (81,050) had decreased by 21% compared with the previous year (102,516). Figures showed that 43,767 of last year's strays were reunited with their owners, with 9,000 cases due to a microchip.
In April this year it became legally compulsory for all pet dogs to be microchipped with up-to-date contact details for their owners. Those owners who fail to comply may face a fine of up to #500.
A further Dogs Trust study revealed that less that 10% of dog owners considered updating their pets' microchips after moving house to be a priority, with many considering sorting a digital television to be more important.
Adrian Burder, the charity's chief executive, said: To discover that the number of stray dogs in the UK is down from last year is promising, but with over 37,000 dogs remaining unclaimed in council pounds last year, it's clear we still have work to do.Local authorities work tirelessly caring for stray and abandoned dogs each year, but sadly they just don't have the resources or man power to care for every stray dog in the UK. Stray dogs that find themselves at Dogs Trust are the lucky ones, as we will never put a healthy dog to sleep, but not all of the unclaimed dogs are so fortunate'' Commenting on the recent microchipping legislation he said:We hope this new law will significantly bring down the number of stray dogs and have a very positive effect on next year's Stray Dogs Survey results.''