Petlog found that almost 5,000 dogs<\/a> and over 20,000 cats<\/a> were reported missing between January 2023 and June 2024, with the South East pinpointed as UK\u2019s missing pet hotspot.\u00a0<\/p> However, despite the high number of lost animals, more than 3,500 dogs and over 13,000 cats were reported as found, meaning that 74% of dogs and 62% of cats were reunited with their owners.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Dogs and cats weren’t the only pets to go missing. Since the start of 2023, a reported 700 ferrets, 300 tortoises and 20 camelids (camels, llamas and alpacas) have also been lost.<\/p> The majority of the UK’s missing animals were reported in England (roughly 3,400 dogs and 16,000 cats).<\/p> In Wales, 2,201 cats and 686 dogs were reported as missing. Meanwhile, Scotland logged 553 cats and 180 dogs; and Northern Ireland reported 40 dogs and 111 cats. <\/p> According to The Kennel Club<\/a>, who manage Petlog, more pets go missing during summer than any other season.<\/p> There can be many reasons why a dog or cat goes missing. They may have been scared by another animal, a person or a vehicle, chasing off rival pets, or even stolen.<\/p> Petlog says the number of missing pets would have been a lot higher if they were not microchipped. <\/p> A\u00a0microchip\u00a0is a tiny device that is inserted quickly and simply under your\u00a0pet’s\u00a0skin by a trained professional. The chip gives your\u00a0pet\u00a0their own unique code and allows it to be easily identified and returned.<\/p> It’s mandatory that your dog or cat is fitted with a microchip and registered on a database. According to the GOV.UK website<\/a>, “your dog must be microchipped and registered by the time they\u2019re 8 weeks old,” while “your cat must be microchipped and registered by the time they\u2019re 20 weeks old. This includes cats that usually only stay indoors.”<\/p> Keeping the chip updated is the owner’s responsibility, says Bill Lambert, spokesperson for Petlog. \u201cPet microchips help to reunite tens of thousands of much-loved pets with their owners, but it is not a magic wand and will not work if owners do not keep their contact details up to date with their microchipping database.<\/p> “A lot of families move house and change phone numbers, without updating these details with their database, making it impossible to reunite their pets in a lot of cases.<\/p> \u201cChecking and updating your details this National Microchipping Month is such a simple step but can make all the difference.\u201d<\/p> More information visit the\u00a0Petlog website.<\/a><\/p> More on pets:<\/strong><\/p> Almost 5,000 dogs, over 20,000 cats, 700 ferrets, 300 tortoises and 20 camelids were reported missing between January 2023 and June 2024. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":37873,"template":"","categories":[1,27],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/where-did-all-the-pets-go-more-than-25000-dogs-cats-and-llamas-reported-missing-since-start-of-2023.jpg",2121,1414,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/where-did-all-the-pets-go-more-than-25000-dogs-cats-and-llamas-reported-missing-since-start-of-2023-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/where-did-all-the-pets-go-more-than-25000-dogs-cats-and-llamas-reported-missing-since-start-of-2023-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/where-did-all-the-pets-go-more-than-25000-dogs-cats-and-llamas-reported-missing-since-start-of-2023-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/where-did-all-the-pets-go-more-than-25000-dogs-cats-and-llamas-reported-missing-since-start-of-2023-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/where-did-all-the-pets-go-more-than-25000-dogs-cats-and-llamas-reported-missing-since-start-of-2023-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/06\/where-did-all-the-pets-go-more-than-25000-dogs-cats-and-llamas-reported-missing-since-start-of-2023-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Almost 5,000 dogs, over 20,000 cats, 700 ferrets, 300 tortoises and 20 camelids were reported missing between January 2023 and June 2024.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/37872"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why do pets go missing?<\/h2>
![\"Alpaca\"](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2024\/06\/Alpaca.jpeg\")
Microchipping your cat or dog is law<\/h2>
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