Cat Victims of Roadside Accidents will be Scanned

Owners of microchipped cats will be contacted by Hounslow

Cat microchipped courtesy of Blue Cross

Following a motion passed by the London Assembly calling for mandatory scanning by local authorities, the council and its contractor Hounslow Highways have confirmed that all deceased cats collected on roads in the borough are scanned and stored at an office facility, pending collection from the owner once contact has been made. 

The motion was unanimously agreed after it emerged that cats are not included in the current legislation.

The London Assembly motion calls on the Mayor of London to use his powers to push for mandatory scanning of deceased cats by local authorities collected from the roadside and urges councils to make sure their street cleaning teams treat all cats with respect.

Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 motorists are required to stop and report an accident involving animals including horses, cattle, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats.

Councillor Guy Lambert, Cabinet Member for Highways, said, “Hounslow Council supports the London Assembly’s position regarding the scanning of cats and Hounslow Highways already has in place mandatory scanning whereby cats found on the roadside are checked for a microchip, their details are looked up on a central database and owners are contacted.

Mandatory scanning has been in place in Hounslow since the contract with Hounslow Highways commenced in January 2013.”

If cats are not microchipped they are kept pending monthly collection. If you have lost a cat you may ask to see deceased cats. You can report a lost cate via hounslowhighways.org

Microchipping costs £20-30.

July 7, 2018