CRAVEN dog owners could find their pets subjected to on the spot checks by council officers enforcing new microchip laws.

From the beginning of the month, it became an offence for dogs not to be fitted with an identifying chip.

It is also an offence not to keep details up to date, as in a change of address or change of owner.

Craven District Council, responsible for enforcing the new legislation, will be carrying out patrols and pursuing any possible prosecutions.

Wayne Gray, environmental health officer, said: “We would urge every dog owner, who has not had their animal microchipped, to get it done.

"We will be carrying out patrols and enforcing these regulations, and owners could be prosecuted if they do not chip their dogs."

It is estimated that lost and stray dogs cost local authorities and charities more than £32 million every year.

If council officers find a dog that is not microchipped, they can serve a notice on the keeper of the dog requiring the pet to be microchipped within 21 days.

Where a notice is not complied with, the council can also seize the dog, implant a microchip and recover the costs of doing so from the owner.

It is also an offence for the keeper’s details to be out of date on the microchip database, or to transfer a dog that has not been microchipped to a new keeper.

There are a number of exemptions for microchipping dogs. If the dog has been certified as a working dog and its tail has been docked, in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the time limit for the dog to be microchipped and details recorded with a database is extended to 12 weeks.

Dogs can also be exempt from microchipping if a vet certifies it could adversely affect its health.

Free microchipping is being offered by the charity, The DogsTrust.