How safe are your pets?
How safe are your pets?
Pet theft appears to be an ongoing problem in much of the UK. Last year an ITV report named London and Kent as the most likely places for dogs to be stolen. The same report suggested that gun dogs such as retrievers and spaniels were most at risk. Gangs may even be targeting specific households. In January, The Telegraph newspaper raised fears that symbols chalked near to houses in Durham may be used by dog thieves to mark the homes of pedigree breeds.
For pet owners, these claims can only be distressing news. As always, it’s important to take the security of your pets very seriously. Most pet owners already take basic precautions, by never leaving animals untended in easily accessible areas and keeping an eye on dogs while they are off the lead. Microchipping is an important and useful method of identifying pets and reuniting them with owners, and will become a legal requirement soon.
Will an ID tag help to prevent your pet from being stolen? Obviously a thief can easily remove the ID from the pet, but pets without ID are more often stolen because the thief believes (or decides to believe) that they were unable to contact the owner, whether or not the pet is microchipped. Stealing a pet and deliberately removing their collar and ID means the thief requires is far more sinister than taking home a dog without identification, whom the thief might decide is not cared for.
While some dogs are stolen for the thief to keep for themselves, many pedigrees are stolen for breeding purposes. If your pet has been spayed, it is worth showing this on their ID tag. Any thief looking for a dog to breed won’t be interested in one that has been spayed.
For added security, have your pets microchipped and spayed, and include the words ‘CHIPPED & SPAYED’ on their ID tag. And don’t forget, UK law mandates that you should also include your surname and address (house number and postcode at least) and of course a phone number so you can be contacted as quickly as possible should you pet go missing.
Choose from our fantastic range of pet tags at Pet-Tags.
Pet theft appears to be an ongoing problem in much of the UK. Last year an ITV report named London and Kent as the most likely places for dogs to be stolen. The same report suggested that gun dogs such as retrievers and spaniels were most at risk. Gangs may even be targeting specific households. In January, The Telegraph newspaper raised fears that symbols chalked near to houses in Durham may be used by dog thieves to mark the homes of pedigree breeds.
For pet owners, these claims can only be distressing news. As always, it’s important to take the security of your pets very seriously. Most pet owners already take basic precautions, by never leaving animals untended in easily accessible areas and keeping an eye on dogs while they are off the lead. Microchipping is an important and useful method of identifying pets and reuniting them with owners, and will become a legal requirement soon.
Will an ID tag help to prevent your pet from being stolen? Obviously a thief can easily remove the ID from the pet, but pets without ID are more often stolen because the thief believes (or decides to believe) that they were unable to contact the owner, whether or not the pet is microchipped. Stealing a pet and deliberately removing their collar and ID means the thief requires is far more sinister than taking home a dog without identification, whom the thief might decide is not cared for.
While some dogs are stolen for the thief to keep for themselves, many pedigrees are stolen for breeding purposes. If your pet has been spayed, it is worth showing this on their ID tag. Any thief looking for a dog to breed won’t be interested in one that has been spayed.
For added security, have your pets microchipped and spayed, and include the words ‘CHIPPED & SPAYED’ on their ID tag. And don’t forget, UK law mandates that you should also include your surname and address (house number and postcode at least) and of course a phone number so you can be contacted as quickly as possible should you pet go missing.
Choose from our fantastic range of pet tags at Pet-Tags.