Why did Japan decide to use 'identity cards' for pets?

Japan has made a decision to chip in pets to make "identification cards". The 1cm-long chip can store a pet's date of birth, vaccine records, owner information.

Japan is famous for keeping pets. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, as of April 2021, the number of children in Japan is about 14.93 million children, and according to the data of the Japan Pet Food Association, This country has more than 16 million pet cats and dogs by 2021, which means that there are more dogs and cats in this country than children. Although the birth rate in the developed world is decreasing every year, such a metric is enough to reflect the Japanese love of pets.

But corresponding to the huge number of pets, this country also has a relatively large pet abandonment rate. In Japan, it often happens that a certain type of pet suddenly becomes popular in a short time through the promotion of movies, music, games. but in reality, raising them is not easy. so easy.

In 1999, France specified that a chip or tattoo must be implanted in dogs older than 4 months of age to provide identification.

Raising a pet requires a lot of energy, time and medical care, as well as a special diet, so the cost of raising a pet is not small, so the probability of abandoning a pet in Japan is also extremely tall.

Faced with the high cost of raising pets, many people choose to give them up. According to the Japanese Ministry of Environment's statistics in 2020, there are about 72,000 pet dogs and cats that are lost or abandoned, but these 72,000 are only counted at animal shelters. And in fact there are still about 24,000 dogs and cats roaming unmanaged.

In addition, the implantation of chips into the body of pets is not a donation in the world, even in Vietnam, for dogs or cats imported from abroad, most of them are in their bodies. All are fitted with a new chip or new ear tattoo with a unique code, which is similar to the identification number on a citizen's identity card.

Faced with that situation, in order to reduce the damage to the natural environment caused by stray animals, in June 2020, Japan further strengthened the 'Animal Protection Law', and increased the maximum sentence for for killing animals without a valid reason - imprisonment from 2 years to 5 years, accompanied by a fine of 2 million to 5 million yen. When animal abuse is discovered, owners will be fined 1 million yen and the sentence they will receive will be up to one year in prison depending on the case. Despite the corresponding penalties, the number of cases of pet neglect and abuse in Japan remains unregulated.

To avoid the loss of pets, Japan requires microchips for dogs and cats.

To reduce abandonment and prevent lost pets, Japan stipulates that starting from June 1, 2022, pet-related industries are required to implant microchips for dogs and cats when selling pets. At the same time, the integration of pet-related information will also be updated after the sale.

Registration and information updates will take place within a few days, including date of birth, breed, vaccine records and owner information of the pet.

Once lost, their information can be found by scanning the chip information.

When a pet is lost, and found by a rescue center, they can find their information by scanning the chip information. Proponents believe that microchips can prevent pets from getting lost and that they can be returned to their rightful owners if lost and can also effectively prevent abandonment, but opponents argue that the implantation Microchips on pets are too cruel and can cause certain harm to their pets.

In fact, the implantation of a chip in pets does not affect their health much, the implantation of the chip is very simple, just like you bring your pet to get vaccinated. This process can be done with a syringe, the chip surface has a biological coating so it will not lead to infection or rejection. The lifespan of the chip is also very long, basically 18 to 20 years, and basically, for most pets, one chip is enough for a lifetime. In 1999, France specified that a chip or tattoo must be implanted in dogs older than 4 months of age to provide identification.

The implantation of chips in pets does not affect their health much.

In addition, the implantation of chips into the body of pets is not a donation in the world, even in Vietnam, for dogs or cats imported from abroad, most of them are in their bodies. All are fitted with a new chip or new ear tattoo with a unique code, which is similar to the identification number on a citizen's identity card. In addition, for dogs that are brought to the breed test and recognition, after being successfully recognized, they will also be implanted with a chip and on the back of the neck with an identification code similar to the code on the breed certificate, even from On this paper, one can look up the information of both the dogs, their parents, and their grandparents.