Council texting to get 20,000 pets registered

Have you received a text from Melton council about your pet?

More than 20,500 cats and dogs in the Melton municipality are microchipped but not registered, according to council.

Pet owners are being urged to register their cats and dogs so they can be quickly reunited with the furry members of their family if they go missing.

Melton council is currently sending SMS messages to residents who have a pet who is microchipped but not yet registered with council.

When council finds a lost animal, it scans for a microchip to identify the pet’s owner.

Sometimes the contact details on the microchip can be out-of-date or belong to a

former owner, which causes delays in reuniting the pet with its owner.

Registration means council has a record of your pet’s name and your contact details,

so it can quickly return lost pets to their owners. It also helps keep the community safe.

If your dog or cat is more than three months of age, it is a legal obligation to ensure

your pet is microchipped and registered with council.

Microchipping and registration are not the same thing, and both are legal requirements

in Victoria as per the Domestic Animals Act 1994.

Registering your pet is easy to do. To register your pet, you will be asked to provide

proof of microchip, sterilisation certificate and concession details if applicable.

All pets must be microchipped, and all cats must be sterilised.

Melton mayor Kathy Majdlik said pet owners can heavily boost the chances of being quickly reunited with their lost furry friends if their dogs and cats are registered with council.

“Owning a pet brings enormous benefits but it also comes with responsibilities,

including the requirement to register your dog and cat with your council,” she said.

“Often lost pets end up in animal shelters because the owners haven’t had them

microchipped, registered with council or updated their contact details.

“Pets are part of the family, and we want to ensure we can reunite pet owners with

their furry friends as quickly as possible, that’s why it is so important to register your

Pets.”

Details: melton.vic.gov.au/petrego