LOS ANGELES (CNS) – In a bid to reduce the number of lost animals entering the city’s six shelters and reduce overcrowding, a City Council committee Tuesday will consider a proposal to require all pets be microchipped.
The Department of Animal Services currently charges $15 to microchip pets, and uses grant funding to help cover the fee for residents who can’t afford it.
Animals adopted from city shelters are registered and microchipped as well.
According to data from Michelson Found Animals, there are approximately 2.4 million pets in Los Angeles households. An estimated 25% of these pets are microchipped, roughly 600,000, and another 1.8 million pets are unchipped.
In order to microchip most pets in the city, it would cost approximately $5.4 million, a report from LAAS. The figure does not include other related costs for staffing, administration or a citywide mandatory microchipping program.
Under Los Angeles County rules, dogs and cats four months or older must be implanted with a microchip. A pet owner must provide the microchip number to the county’s Department of Animal Care and Control.
Any changes of pet ownership must be notified to the county’s department as well with the new address and telephone number.
The county hosts bi-weekly vaccination clinics at its six regional Animal Care Centers, where microchips can be bought for $7.50. It doesn’t include registration of the microchip.
Despite the policy, the county’s return-to-home rate stands at only 11%.
Dallas has a similar policy — microchipping has replaced the requirement for animal registration/pet licensing.
In Washoe County, Nevada, which includes Reno, officials spent $8,100 during the 2023 fiscal year on microchips, according to LAAS’ report. Data showed that the up-front expenditures on microchips were recovered by reducing intake and length of stay for pets arriving at animal shelters.
Data showed Washoe County’s return-to-home rate for dogs stood at 67% that year as a result of field officers returning animals directly to their homes after scanning for microchips.
LAAS noted that if the city were to implement a microchip policy the program should “avoid punitive measures.”
“If the city of Los Angeles were to implement such a program, the microchips must be both affordable and widely accessible, with staff trained to implant them,” the report reads.
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