Microchipping and registering animals is not only essential for improving the welfare of cats and dogs; as well as ensuring public health; it could also save EU stated up to 25 BILLION euros per year.

As the European Commission’s proposal on the welfare of dogs and cats; including their traceability; makes its way though Parliament; the mandatory identification and registration of all companion animals remains a crucial element of the legislation.

Under current legislation proposals, certain animals are at risk of being excluded from the mandate to microchip and register pets. Leaving gaps in the legislation will allow the illegal pet trade to continue unabated, resulting in lost revenues for tax authorities and a continued burden on the public sector related to the maintenance of unwanted and abandoned animals.

With almost 6 MILLION dogs in demand across the EU each year; a staggering 79% come from unverified sources. With a conservative purchase price of around 800 Euros per puppy, dogs coming from un verified sources constitute up to 3.8 BILLIONG in lost revenues and VAT annually. With around 78 million cats in EU households, and some purebred prices reaching a disgusting 50,000 Euros; cats are a vital element of this proposal.

The uncontrolled trade and breeding of dogs and cats leads to striking costs of managing free roaming populations. Feral and abandoned pets constitute 30% of all cats and dogs worldwide, with the number of abandoned, homeless cats and dogs in EUROPE most likely underestimated to be 100 MILLION animals. In Italy alone it costs 180 – 200 million Euros of public funds to keep ABANDONED DOGS in shelters, If we look at the numbers throughout the EU, then the numbers and prices become staggering.

The lack of EU wide requirements could be costing EU member states, municipalities and EU citizens up to 25 BILLION Euros per year, an equivalent of 0.15% of total EU GDP. However, this money could be saved if the European Parliament acts responsibly when handling the current legislative proposals.

Currently, 24 EU member states require the mandatory of dogs; and 7 EU member states require it for cats; with more countries anticipated in coming years.

The obligation is especially important for stray and street animals – we campaigned for them when we were fighting the government in Serbia from 2005 onwards under ‘Serbian Animals Voice’ or SAV – – https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-serbian-animals/ and https://serbiananimalsvoice.com/about-us/

An EU wide system needs to be implemented to ensure that animals are traceable and that information on ownership, health and any disease history is fully recorded on an EU database.

The average annual ownership costs amount to approximately 1,129 Euros for cats and 1,305 Euros for a dog. THE ONE OFF COST OF MICROCHIPPING works out at around 40 Euros per animal – just 3-4 % of the annual ownership for a dog or a cat. Therefore making microchipping mandatory feasible for all EU animals throughout all EU member states. With adapted transition periods and local solutions in place; this highly practical solution is within reach.

In the development of a sound and reliable identification and registration system throughout ALL EU member states, the costs related to the acquisition of animals from unknown sources as well as the management of ‘unwanted animals’ will reduce over time; and thus leading to more responsible breeding and keeping of animals throughout ALL EU member states.

Thus this our evidence – we hope it is enough for EU citizens to this site to be able to ask their MEP’s to fully support this legislation.

Regards; Mark and Diana.