Page 1534 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2007
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submissions were received. Overall, submissions received showed there is widespread support from the Canberra community and stakeholders for the government’s proposals.
This bill, as presented, includes three amendments made in response to submissions received, showing this government’s willingness to respond to issues raised. I will deal with these further amendments as I summarise each of the government’s proposals.
The first proposal is for lifetime registration of dogs. Following the New South Wales example, the bill will make lifetime registration of dogs compulsory, replacing annual registration renewal for all dog owners, taking effect immediately for the 2007-08 financial year. During 2007-08 only, owners of currently registered dogs will be eligible for lifetime registration at the cost of an annual renewal—a significant cost saving for most dog owners over the life of their dog. Overall, throughout an average dog’s life, lifetime registration will be cheaper for the dog owner than annual registration renewal. The government will be saved the recurrent administrative cost of processing annual dog registration renewals, freeing staff for other duties.
The government is not introducing cat registration. Cat registration is regarded as not necessary for the territory, given that compulsory identification of cats by means of microchipping has already been introduced. Cats currently demand only a limited range of services from the government’s domestic animals rangers, at a significantly lower unit cost than for dogs.
The second proposal is for compulsory microchipping of dogs. Following the example of both Victoria and New South Wales, the bill introduces compulsory microchipping of dogs for the first time in the territory. This follows the government’s initiative in May 2006, which introduced compulsory microchipping for cats in the Gungahlin cat containment area. Microchipping will be compulsory for all cats in the territory by 1 July 2009.
Similar to cats, compulsory microchipping for dogs is being phased in gradually over a three-year period. The bill makes the implanting of microchips compulsory immediately for all dogs over 12 weeks of age when they are sold and for dogs which have been declared dangerous under the act. However, microchipping will not be compulsory for all dogs kept in the territory until three years after the amended act commences in 2010. The cost of microchipping is borne by the dog and cat owners, not by the government.
Microchipping allows a dog’s or cat’s ownerships details to be permanently kept in a central database which is immediately accessible by the animal’s owner or the authorities, provided the animal can be scanned by a microchip reader when it strays or is lost. This allows for rapid retrieval of animals and reuniting with their owners. Unlike in New South Wales, this will be a service provided by privately run domestic animals registries operating in the territory, not by the government.
Making identification of dogs and cats compulsory by means of an implanted microchip is a significant and beneficial outcome of this reform package overall. Microchipping delivers tangible benefits for dog and cat owners and animal control
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