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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of pets reunited with their owner following (a) theft and (b) going missing.

All dogs over 8 weeks of age and cats over 20 weeks of age in England must be microchipped and registered on a compliant database. The legislation is intended to improve animal welfare by increasing the likelihood of reuniting lost or stray pets with their keepers.

The Animal Welfare Strategy for England sets out the Department's commitment to improve the effectiveness of the microchipping regime, including by improving the accuracy and accessibility of pet microchip records and strengthening oversight of microchip databases. These measures support the identification and reunification of lost or stolen pets with their keepers.