Pet owners are being urged to update their pet’s microchip contact details to maximise the chances of successful reunification should a pet be lost or stolen.

Microchip implantation is compulsory in dogs and the government is introducing legislation to require cats to be microchipped, however contact details need to be kept updated to be useful!

The PDSA PAW Report 2022 revealed that nearly 20% of dog, cat and rabbit owners had changed contact details, but had not updated their microchip contact details, with 22% of owners stating that they were not sure if their details were up to date or not.

This equates to 1.8 million pets (830,000 dogs, 970,000 cats and 47,000 rabbits). Of those that had not updated their contact details, 30% said that this was because they did not know how to get their details updated, 17% stated that they had lost the paperwork about their pet’s microchip and 14% commented that they did not know their pet’s microchip number.

identi, the pet protection expert, is launching identiday on Monday, March 20, the first day of spring, to encourage pet owners to update their identi microchip contact details free of charge and competitions and promotions will be running on pet protection subscriptions.

Tammie O’Leary, commercial lead at identi, said: “While it is a legal requirement for dogs to be microchipped and the government is introducing legislation to require cats to be microchipped, it is futile if the pet’s microchip contact details are not kept up to date.

“identiday will help encourage pet owners to update their pet’s microchip contact details to maximise the chances of successful reunification should a pet be lost or stolen.”

To update identi microchip contact details pet owners can visit www.identibase.co.uk. If pet owners are not sure which database holds their pet’s details, they can enter their microchip number and identi will provide the relevant contact information.