In the future it will be mandatory to chip and register house cats. It is not yet known when the measure will be introduced, said Minister Piet Adema (Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) to the House of Representatives. A chip makes it easier to find missing cats. The number of stray cats should also be reduced in this way.
There are approximately 2.9 million domestic cats in our country, of which more than 60,000 are reported missing each year. It is not exactly known how many stray cats there are. The plans for a national chip and registration obligation are now being worked out in more detail. “For example, there are challenges with regard to financing for setting up and maintaining the registration system,” says Adema.
In 2018, D66 came up with a proposal for a compulsory microchip for cats. The party then pointed out that fewer cats also means fewer dead birds. In a letter to the House at the time, 35 municipalities also asked to make mandatory microchipping for cats. The then Minister of Agriculture, Carola Schouten, promised earlier to look into the microchip requirement and the cat problem.