MONTREAL -- A new pet bylaw requiring cats and dogs to have licences and microchips aims to curb the number of abandoned animals in Montreal.

As of Jan. 1, 2020, owners of cats and dogs older than three months will be required to have a licence that must be renewed every year.

Animals older than six months will also need to be microchipped. Microchips help keep your lost pet from staying lost: the small capsule the size of a grain of rice is implanted under the skin and contains a computer chip with a unique 15-digit code.

"Most cats and dogs don't feel much of anything and don't even move" when they have the procedure done, said Enid Stiles, veterinarian at the Sherwood Park Animal Hospital.

Veterinarians can access the code, allowing them to quickly find a pet's owner and keep lost animals from overloading shelters.

Even indoor cats need to get the chip inserted into their backs, said Stiles.

"Indoor cats are the ones that often accidentally get locked outside and they're not wearing a collar," she said.

The new bylaw also requires all cats, dogs and rabbits in Montreal be spayed or neutered.

As of January, owners can be asked for proof their pets have a chip and are sterilized.

If not, owners will have to pay a fine:

  • $600 for a first offence
  • $1,200 for a second offence

Owners of potentially dangerous dogs must also obtain a special licence; failure to do so could result in a $2,000 fine.

Some pet owners say the new rules are too strict.

"I don't think the city should impose it. I think that's going a bit too far. Next, what will it be, microchip your child?" said pet owner Marie-France Leduc.

The city says microchipping pets will help identify people who abandon their animals, an especially big problem around the July 1 moving day. 

"We know we have a problem with cats and dogs that are abandoned and we want to be sure the people who are responsible for these animals are also accountable," said city councillor Sterling Downey.

The SPCA fully supports the bylaw and says it should help reunite the hundreds of lost pets it receives every year with their owners. 

"Most of them do not have a microchip, which makes finding their owner very, very difficult and it takes more time," said SPCA Montreal's Anita Kapuscinska.

The SPCA Montreal offers the microchip service for $45 from Monday to Friday between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. with no appointment.