Opposition to dog chips lacks juice

Councillor and farmer Roddy McKenzie met MPs yesterday. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Political parties wanting to change laws requiring mandatory microchipping of dogs are more bark than bite as they lack the numbers to push through a change.

National and the Green Party announced they had drafted amendments to scrap mandatory microchipping via an upcoming local government bill after an outcry from farmers reignited the debate. The Maori Party and Act do not support microchipping either.

But New Zealand First and United Future support microchipping, although the latter would like to see an exemption for farm dogs.

"We still want to see working farm dogs exempted from the regime but, with that very important proviso, we support the continuation of microchipping," United Future MP Gordon Copeland said yesterday.

He said microchipping was an important way of reducing dog attacks and gave an assurance in Parliament that there was no chance that the party's position would change.

NZ First MP Peter Brown said he was willing to listen to the arguments on the issue, but a spokeswoman for the party said it had not and would not change its position in support of microchipping.

Also National agriculture spokesman David Carter said he had spoken to NZ First agriculture spokesman Doug Woolerton, who said there was "no chance" of the party changing its position.

Mr Carter hoped United Future would budge.

"It's now up to United Future to show they aren't the Government's poodles over the plan to microchip all dogs," he said.

"United Future hold the balance of power on this issue. They call themselves the commonsense party, but there's no common sense if they are going to force all dogs to be microchipped."

Mr Copeland said it was the Greens who were the problem, not his party.

"Just 24 hours ago the numbers were there to exempt working dogs from microchipping and defeat the Government: United Future, National, Act, the Maori Party and the Greens, totalling 63 MPs, were set to vote against it."

However a spokeswoman for the Greens said the party's position had never been to support an exemption for farm dogs.

Lower East Coast North Island mayors came to Parliament yesterday to lobby for mandatory microchipping to be scrapped, and Mr Carter said United Future could expect ongoing pressure on the issue.

The requirement under the Dog Control Act - to allow instant identification after a dog attack - was framed after a series of dog attacks, including one on Carolina Anderson, then aged 7, who was severely mauled in a central Auckland park in 2003.

Dogs already registered on July 1, when the law comes into effect, do not need to be microchipped.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Veterinary Association and Kennel Club support the law.

However, there has been strong opposition from the farming sector, which has led to the whole issue coming up for debate again.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was "a little strange" that political parties were now trying to exempt farm dogs after earlier voting for the dog microchipping laws.

National, the Greens and others argue they opposed the microchipping parts of the overall dog control law during the passage of the legislation but did not want the whole package to fall apart because of that opposition.

- NZPA