Motril Town Hall has acquired six new devices for reading the microchips that pets have inserted under their fur for identification purposes.

These gadgets didn’t cost the municipal coffers a penny as they were donated by the Provincial Delegate of the Junta de Andalucía as part of the Campaña de Identificación de Animales Domésticos.

The Motril Councillor for Salud y Consumo said that the Town Council has followed the advice of several animal-protection associations and had requested the readers from the Junta, both to make it easier to return strays to their rightful owners, as well as track down the owners of abandoned pets.

By law, pet owners (of cats & dogs) must have their pets ‘chipped’ when they reach three months of age, which effectively registers them on the Red Española de Identificación de Animales de Compañía (REIAC), meaning even if the animal turns up on the other side of the country, its owners can be immediately identified and informed.

But this system has another bonus to it, which is that it allows municipal authorities to know exactly how many dogs and cats they have in the township, thus allowing them to design public campaigns using precise figures.

Finally, the said councillor, David Martín, reminds pet owners that they are obliged to register their pets at the councillor’s department (Concejalía de Salud y Consumo) and thus obtain the corresponding pet passport.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)