Data protection act (registry refuses to release microchip details to pound)

A dog was found wandering and taken to a pound, this dog was chipped and when the finders ask the chip company who the owners where they declined to give the owners name stating that they could not disclose this infomation because of the DPA.


The dog was sent to Battersea and PTS.

The site is doglost

I know its against rules to put a link to another forum so sorry


http://www.doglost.co.uk/forum.asp?id=3741

they cant give out the info to anyone or another person could claim to be the new owner i would think the pound would have contacted them for the info if they know the dog is chipped.
or the person that found the dog take it to the local dog warden etc who can get the info needed.

I have just read the whole DogLost thread and confess I am horrified that a chipped dog, reported missing/stolen can be PTS by a reputable rescue centre no matter what the reason

I appreciate that there may well have been complex legal issues that needed to be resolved - all the more reason for the Rescue Centre concerned to be wary and not make hasty decisions.

What this story tells me is that AT PRESENT it is quite possible for criminals to steal a dog and then if it looks like they might get caught they can rely on Animal Welfare Charities to destroy the evidence

I hope the full facts emerge and that all the Organisations concerned review their policies to ensure that this can NEVER happen again

Run free, Penny

Sadly organisations have been doing this for years. Here's how 1 org works that I know of (not Animal Concern Cumbria as we have a non PTS policy and we do not get council funding or dogs from dog warden):

Dog warden finds dog and takes it to kennels where it is housed for 7 days

7 days up? Dog is PTS (owners NEVER contacted be it, chipped, collar and tag etc)
OR it is transferred to another council funded kennels whereby it will be given a further 7 days of life. Thats it! time's up and PTS.

There are lots of rescue's set up just to save the 'poundies' and save these much loved dogs. As far as I can see the owners nor the dogs stand a chance. Once the Dog warden gets it, It's gone!

Just to add that not ALL council funded kennels operate in this way.

I was speaking to lady recently at a dog show who is campaining to get councils to change their policy when picking up dogs/cats which have been hit by cars and left at roadside.

At present,the council will remove the body and it is simply dumped into landfill or incinerated and they do not scan the animal to see if it has been chipped.

This lady had lost her Rottweiler (escaped) and the council admitted to picking up a "black and tan" dog a few miles away which had been hit and killed by a car.The dog however was never scanned to check if it was chipped (which apparently it was) and was simply dumped into a landfill site along with all the other rubbish the council people pick up.

This lady had no other option but to take tissue samples from where the body was picked up and is having a DNA test done to find out if it is her dog.Like she said to me,until she knows for sure-she cannot grieve.

makes you wonder if it is worth getting your dog chipped in the first place

It must be diffrent in diffret places. When my son had his staffie Tara, she went walk about. I was out looking for her and spotted the dog wardens van. I went over to him and asked if he had seen her. He went into his van and produced her. He asked me my name and phone no. Looked in his wee book and said he was just about to come to the house with her. He had got our details from her chip.

I find the story very worrying & would like to point out this would not have happened if the dog had been tattooed. the dog had been reported missing & the NDTR registrar would have contacted the owner regrading the dog at once.

The found property laws in England, Wales & N.ireland are that if a piece of property(which at this time a dog is)is found that is permanently marked then it has to be returned to it's registered owner/keeper(in the case of cars etc)& as a tattoo is a permanent mark it is covered by this, microchips on the other hand are not 1permanent they can be removed with out permanent damage to the dog/cat etc) 2mark anything ID'd with a microchip does not have to be returned to the registered owner/keeper. I know this is correct as I have checked with the police property people & a friend who is a solicitor.

A friend of mine is a tri athlete & had her £5,000 bicycle stolen(by someone she knew, but couldn't prove it). It was all correctly reported to the police & a crime number etc obtained). Three months later she saw her bike at a competition & after it was scanned it was proved to be her bike, did she get it back ? Nope, it was handed in as found property-no perm mark on it & the police are not required to scan bikes(or anything in fact). it had been resprayed, but as it was the only one in the UK it was obviously my friends bike without the scan, after 28 days the "finder"claimed the bike(as allowed under the law)& became it's legal owner & sold it to another tri athlete(an innocent party). My friend had to wait months before she got her new bike as they are all custom made & imported & she lost her chance to compete at world competitions & the Olympics. To say she was gutted & her new bike has had all the parts permanently marked & sprayed with smart water(which although not visible to the naked eye is permanent & a mark & can be viewed with a UV(I think it's UV)torch/light

Just my 2 bobs worth, you know all this could be avoided if the chip company introduces an input for another field:

Can this information be given out in the event the dog is found? YES/NO...