Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many pet microchip databases are authorised for use in England; what regulatory oversight she exercises over (i) pricing structures, (ii) subscription models and (iii) data access arrangements operated by microchip database providers; what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the number of commercial microchip database operators on animal welfare and pet theft prevention; and whether she has considered establishing a statutory framework to require (a) interoperability and (b) a mandatory central lookup facility across approved databases.

Since the introduction of compulsory dog microchipping in 2016, the number of compliant database operators has increased from four to 24. While this gives consumers more choice, it has made it harder for authorised users to access records quickly.

Defra is working with the Association of Microchip Database Operators (AMDO) to develop improvements to how the microchipping regime operates. AMDO is currently testing industry‑led solutions that will give authorised users digital access to database information through a single point of search.

Pet microchipping databases are operated by commercial providers and Defra does not regulate how much they charge for their services. However, all compliant database operators must ensure that they can redirect an online request for a microchip record to the database operator that holds the record. Defra monitors compliance with these requirements and will act where a database operator is failing to meet them.

Defra has not assessed the potential impact of the number of pet microchip databases on reunification times or enforcement under the Pet Abduction Act 2024.