Mission microchip

Check campaign for dogs in free-range zones

The dogs' chips are read directly in Klagenfurt's five dog walking zones.(Bild: Tiko/Nina Zesar)

The Animal Welfare Competence Center (Tiko) and the City of Klagenfurt are informing people about the obligation to register and report dogs as part of their "ChipCheck" awareness campaign.

For four years now, it has been mandatory in Austria to chip your dog, register it online and report it to the municipal office. However, many owners are still unaware of this, which is why the Animal Welfare Competence Center (Tiko) is now launching an awareness campaign together with the city of Klagenfurt.

"Every Monday in May and on the first Monday in June, we will inform dog owners in the five dog-free zones in Klagenfurt from 3 to 5 p.m. and read the dogs' chips directly on site," explains Nina Zesar from Tiko. It will start on May 6 in Strutzmannstraße in Waidmannsdorf.

"Around a third of the dogs that come to Tiko as found animals are not registered at all or not properly registered and another third are not even chipped."

Nina Zesar, Tiko

On the 13th, the corner of Siebenhügelstraße on Südring near the stadium will be visited, on the 20th the Feschnig off-leash dog area in Grete-Bittner-Straße will be visited and on the 27th dogs can be checked in Iringstraße in Welzenegg. The campaign will conclude on June 3 in the Fischl dog-free zone in Roseneggerstraße.

Four-legged friends are only chipped by vets, and this is usually done at the breeder or animal shelter. However, the one-off registration of the chip number must be carried out by the dog owner. Incidentally, with proper registration, animals that have been found or injured can be returned to their owners all the more quickly.