Vets deny any monetary gain in microchip

The cost of microchipping the dog could depend on which vet clinic or service you use.

From July 1, dogs in the country would need to be microchipped, except for working and companion dogs.

A quick phone survey of vet clinics around the country found that prices ranged from $40 to more than $100.

The most expensive clinic in the survey said the price reflected the cost of Australasian registration and that just local registration would cost less.

But veterinarian Nicola Kopei of the Greenlane Veterinary Clinic said the clinic charged $55, which included consultation and the paperwork required to sign up the dog with an Australasian register.

Microchips cost $10 to $20 each and a normal consultation fee was $45.

The cost of chipping could rise if the animal needed to have a local anaesthetic or be sedated.

"We're certainly not making any money out of it," said Ms Kopei.

Most veterinarians would not make a fortune from the new dog microchipping law, said Murray Gibb of the New Zealand Veterinarians Association.

Mr Gibb said as dog microchipping was not a specialist skill, any member of the public with a big enough needle would be able to perform the task.

"If the Prime Minister wanted to microchip her dog, there would be nothing stopping her."

The claim that veterinarians supported the bill because it would bring them commercial gain was false, he said.

"If vets were banned from microchipping dogs, we still wouldn't have changed our policy."

He estimated that at an average price of $50 per dog for 20,000 dogs the profit for the entire veterinary market would be $1 million annually.

"That's diddly squat," said Mr Gibb.

He did not deny that there might be some unscrupulous vets out there that might charge higher-than-normal prices for microchipping, but said that was what happened in a free market.

If cost was a worry, owners could schedule in the chipping along with their dog's first vaccination, which would save them the consultation fee.

Vets encouraged people to get their dogs microchipped because it made identification easier not just for dangerous dogs, but animals that had been injured or lost.

Mr Gibb said smaller breeds such as chihuahuas might need a local before being chipped, because of the 16-gauge needle used for the procedure.

Some city councils were offering to microchip dogs for the public for $20. Waitakere Animal Welfare planned to start offering the service from July 1 and the Christchurch City Council already had a programme in place.