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Tomorrow, Tallinn City Government discusses new pet keeping rules requiring, among other things, that cats be equipped with microchips.
All cats in Tallinn to be microchipped
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As the current dog and cat keeping rule only required microchipping of the former, the new one will make chips mandatory for cats as well. Should City Council approve the rule, it enters into force on January 1st 2015. Chipping dogs is compulsory from 2006.
A letter of explanation attached to the draft states that, compared to pre-chipping/registration times, the Tallinn Environment Department’s expenses on catching and keeping dogs are down over 25 times. Therefore, it is considered prudent to also apply mandatory microchipping and registration to all cats.
Of stray cats caught last year in Tallinn, only 0.5 per cent were microchipped and registered. With dogs, it came close to a fifth. «The Tallinners’ cat keeping culture is very poor: from 2007 to 2012, the number of stray cats caught in Tallinn is stable at 2,000-2,400 individuals. With stray dogs detained in Tallinn, the number has, in past five years, come down by 52 per cent,» states the letter of explanation.
Microchipping at the animal shelter MTÜ Loomade Hoiupaik clinic costs €10. This and next year, Environment Department will also treat every city district with cat chipping and registering discount campaigns.