FROM NEXT MONTH dog owners will be subject to €5,000 fines if their dogs are unchipped.

This will kick in from 1 April and government-approved certificates will be required to prove that the animals are microchipped and registered.

The new law is being brought in with the hope that it will help weed out illegal puppy farming, and improve general welfare for animals.

Speaking last July, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said that responsible breeders will be:

Happy to show you the dogs in their home environment and can provide suitable supporting documentation in relation to the dog’s health, vaccination status, microchip number and registration.

In a statement this afternoon, the DSPCA has issued a number of guidelines for anyone who needs to have their dog microchipped.

These include:

• The four approved databases are ran by Fido, the Irish kennel club, the Irish greyhound board and Animark.ie. 
• Microchipping should be carried out vet or trained person.
• From 1 April, it may be harder to prove ownership from your dog if it is picked up and brought to a pound if it is not microchipped.

On the microchipping process, the ISPCA has said that the microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and is inserted painlessly underneath the skin.

The organisation has stated that if your dog has already been microchipped you are required to ensure that your details are up to date and correct on the microchipping database.

To help pet owners, animal welfare charity the Irish Blue Cross will be hosting a number of mobile clinics at the following locations over the next six weeks:

• Saturday 19 March, Omni Park Centre, Santry 
• Saturday 2 April, Maxi Zoo, Unit 1, Arena Retail Park, Whitestown Way, Tallaght 
• Saturday 9 April, Maxi Zoo, Unit 4, Retail Park, Liffey Valley 
• Saturday 16 April, Maxi Zoo, Unit 414, Blanchardstown Retail Park 
• Saturday 23 April, Petworld, Omni Park Centre, Santry  

- Updated 22/03/2016 – this article initially incorrectly credited advice issued by the DSPCA to the ISPCA. This has now been amended and information from the ISPCA added above.   

Read: 15 adorable dogs that stole the show at Crufts this year

Also: A dog ‘drove’ its owner’s truck over a tree and into a car

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