Microchipping dramatically improves the chances of lost animals being reunited with owners, reducing shelter stays and welfare harm from abandonment and stray life.
Microchipping is a minimally invasive procedure with a disproportionately large welfare benefit. Lost animals that cannot be identified face shelter stays, rehoming to different families, or euthanasia. Animals that are identified can be reunited with their owners rapidly, minimising the distress of separation and the welfare costs of unfamiliar environments. The welfare impact of mandatory microchipping legislation has been demonstrably positive in countries that have implemented it. Database fragmentation — where multiple incompatible microchip registers exist — reduces effectiveness by requiring scanners to check multiple databases. A single national or international register for each species would maximise the welfare benefit of universal chipping. Extending mandatory chipping to cats, who have lower registration rates despite equivalent benefit, would extend this welfare protection.