According to official (rough) estimates, there are around 1.5 million cats living in Switzerland.
Around half of them are probably chipped, said Manuela Gutermann, president of the animal welfare association "Cat Friends Switzerland."
However, the government wants all cat owners to have their pets injected with a chip, about the size of a rice grain, under the cat’s skin.
This helps to electronically identify who the animal belongs to in case it gets lost.
Change of direction
The new move is a turnaround from 2019, when the Federal Council had dispensed with a chip requirement.
At the time, “the weighing up of benefits versus costs did not show any need for a mandatory introduction,” according to SRF public broadcaster.
Now, however, the government is saying that obligatory chipping and registration of cats in a national database that would be part of this compulsory process, “would create an important basis for animal protection.”
In addition, every cat would be given a health check by a veterinarian when it is chipped, and owners would be made more aware of health issues — such as vaccinations, deworming, and sterilisation.
Finally, mandatory microchipping would create the data basis for more detailed investigation of the influence of cats on biodiversity.
Gitterman sees the proposed change as a positive development and “a step in the right direction.”
“In the event of an accident, for example, it is often unclear who the injured or dead animal belongs to. Mandatory microchipping could remedy this. The same applies to animals that have run away.”
The parliament must still decide in the matter, though 26 deputies from several parliamentary groups have already green-lighted the move.
What about dogs?
Just as all people moving to (or within) Switzerland, dogs must be ‘registered’ too.
Their owners are obligated to microchip them, and they must be registered in AMICUS, the national database for dogs.
“Dogs imported from abroad must be presented to a veterinarian in Switzerland within 10 days following entry into the country,” according to the government.
“The veterinarian must declare these dogs for registration in the AMICUS database (including the foreign microchip or tattoo number) within the following 10 days. There is no automatic transmission to Switzerland of any data already registered in another country.”
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