Tweet

BVA News Release: Dogs Must Be Permanently Identified For Health Schemes

Author: BVA
Posted: Friday 18th December, 2009. 00:00:00

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) is reminding all veterinary surgeons that from January 1st 2010 all dogs presented under the BVA/Kennel Club Canine Health Schemes must be permanently identified by microchip or tattoo.

The BVA/KC Canine Health Schemes (CHS) enable owners to screen for known inherited diseases in their dogs and include the hip dysplasia scheme, the elbow dysplasia scheme and the eye scheme. The hip and elbow schemes both involve veterinary surgeons carrying out radiographs, which are then submitted to the CHS for review by experts.

From January 1st the dog’s microchip or tattoo number must appear on the radiograph alongside the other required information, as detailed in the updated CHS Procedure Notes. X-rays submitted without the microchip/tattoo number will not be accepted.

Examination under the eye scheme is carried out by members of the BVA Eye Panel and dogs presented for examination must have permanent identification before they can be examined. For all dogs examined under the eye scheme the microchip or tattoo number will be checked and the number recorded on the certificate before the dog is examined.

This move is intended to make sure the Schemes are as robust as possible by ensuring the individual dog is identifiable and thereby greatly reducing the risk of false certification.

This article has been viewed 1370 times.

 

Comments about this article