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Scanning of Dead Dogs

The table below lists all Welsh Councils and their policies on scanning of dead dogs found on public highways and other public open spaces. The information was gathered by email query in spring 2010. I am delighted to report that in June 2010, Cardiff Council confirmed their new policy of scanning dead dogs.

The three Welsh Trunk Road Agencies are responsible for cleaning and clearing trunk roads and motorways in Wales. I have contacted all three, and none provide any scanning at the moment. In England, the Highways Agency is the equivalent body and does provide such a service.

Houndmistress believes that those local authorities who do scan dead dogs are to be congratulated on having humane policies that can assist dog owners in understanding the fate of a lost dog, no matter how upsetting that news may be. Not knowing the fate of a much loved pet can be much more distressing.

For this reason, I would like to publicly urge all local authorities in Wales and the three Trunk Road Agencies to adopt policies that ensure dead dogs collected are routinely scanned for chips and if present, their owners are contacted. Relatively small numbers of dogs are involved, but the benefit of this policy to distressed owners is immeasurable.

Name of Authority	Policy on ID of dead dogs
Anglesey Council	Do not currently scan dead dogs, but are interested in implementing if feasible.
Blaenau Gwent	Dead dogs are scanned for microchips and owner notified if found.
Bridgend	Department responsible does not have access to a scanner. Dead animals (both dogs and cats) have breed and markings recorded for identification if the owner calls then animal is sent for cremation at pet crematorium.
Caerphilly	Taken to depot and scanned. If present, owner notified.
Cardiff	Dead dogs picked up by street cleansing department, taken to Dogs Home and scanned by dog warden. If chip present, will contact owner.
Carmarthenshire	No scanning, but will contact owners if details are available via collar.
Ceredigion	Domestic pets taken to depot, for storing in freezers before ultimate disposal. Local attempts made to identify and community wardens do scan for chips.
Conwy	Don’t currently scan, but can see benefits and are considering its introduction.
Denbighshire	Dead dogs not scanned. Note made of breed.
Flintshire	Dead dogs are scanned for microchips and owner notified if found.
Gwynedd	Dead dogs not scanned.
Merthyr Tydfil	Dead dogs not scanned.
Monmouthshire	If body is complete, description noted and warden will scan, then contact owners if possible. When a dog is picked up by the Highways section out of hours or off a trunk road the dog is not scanned (management reluctant to provide equipment).
Neath Port Talbot	Cleansing teams pick up dead dogs and do not carry scanners. However, dog wardens will scan dead dogs if looking for a specific animal.
Newport	Dead dogs not scanned. Taken to pet crematorium at Redwick.
Pembrokeshire	Dead dogs picked up by refuse teams who do not have scanners. Will ask dog control wardens to scan in some cases, and will inform wardens of dogs found.
Powys	Dead dogs not scanned. Record kept of location found and description, dog kept in depot for short while in case owner reclaims.
Rhondda Cynon Taff	Highways staff will bring dead dogs found into animal pound for scanning. If chip present, owners informed of the dog’s location and given the option to collect the body.
Swansea	Dead dogs collected and scanned. Also scan cats where practicable. Owners contacted where practicable. If unable to contact, body sent for disposal.
Torfaen	Do not check dogs for micro chips, although do check for collars and ID tags. Where there are no ID tags the animals are kept 24hrs before being disposed of.
Vale of Glamorgan	Dogs picked up and note taken of location and description if owner contacts. No scanning. Body taken to depot and stored >3 months before disposal at pet crematorium.
Wrexham	Dead dogs are scanned for microchips and owner notified if found.
South Wales Trunk Road Agency	Dead dogs picked up and taken to local highways depot for storage/disposal. If collar ID visible, will contact owners. Do not scan for microchips.
Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency	Claim this is responsibility of local authority – do not carry out.
North Wales Trunk Road Agency	Pass queries to RSPCA.

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