Scanning microchips prior to euthanasia

Overview

In 2020, Defra worked with the Tuk's Law campaign and the veterinary profession to provide more assurance that alternatives have been explored prior to the euthanasia of healthy dogs. In doing so, Defra was responding to the concerns expressed by Tuk's Law campaign, whilst acknowledging the veterinary profession's position that requests to euthanise healthy animals are rare in practice. 

In 2021, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) amended its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons to address this issue. Under the revised Code, where the attending vet considers that there are no health or welfare reasons to justify euthanasia, they should scan the microchip and check the relevant compliant database. This allows the vet to consider whether anyone else has declared an interest in the dog, such as a rehoming centre, who might be willing to take it back into its care (often referred to as “rescue back-up”). Having all this information to hand will enable the vet and their client to discuss potential alternatives to euthanasia.  

Last year, the RCVS also added these requirements to the potential euthanasia of cats. 

Purpose 

It has been four years since the RCVS introduced these requirements for dogs. We believe that it is now appropriate to consider how this process has bedded in and as key stakeholders we would like to seek your views.  Not all of the following questions may be relevant to you or your organisation and, and so you may wish to only address some of them. Completing this questionnaire is voluntary and we expect that it will take no more than 30 minutes of your time.