SPoS is an industry-led solution born from collaboration with Defra and selected suppliers. It is FREE for all authorised users e.g. vet practices, rescue organisations, law enforcement, local authorities, trading standards and animal wardens. Another advantage of an industry-led solution is that it saves a lengthy and costly government procurement process and millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money for development, implementation and ongoing running costs.
SPoS phase 1 provides access to microchip details on five databases; Chipworks, Identi, MyPet, Petlog and PETtrac representing over 90% of active registrations (source: Defra). We’re already working on bringing all AMDO members on board with three more databases in the pipeline and we’ll be inviting (and we hope that Defra will encourage) all other compliant UK databases to connect with SPoS.
We’ve worked hard to develop and test a data format for making the request and displaying the keeper/pet information and appropriate messaging when a record can’t be displayed. Each connected database has developed processes to receive, validate and respond to search requests.
SPoS also requires robust user sign-up protocols to be in place to make sure that personal information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands particularly in the case of ownership disputes, stolen pets or victim-survivors fleeing domestic abuse.
Ultimately, our goal is for all authorised users to be able to search and retrieve pet and keeper details from all compliant UK databases via a single portal. Authorised users come from a range of sectors, with access to different IT solutions and platforms, so it may be necessary to have a small number of solutions for SPoS to be accessed online as well as through vet practice software or animal management software. All SPoS solutions will do the SAME thing. Users will only need to sign up for ONE solution depending on which fits best with the way the organisation works.
Non-member databases are welcome to apply to join SPoS and we’d encourage users of those other databases, particularly if you register microchips with them, to urge them to connect.
Existing lookup links between databases and telephone services remain essential to help users such as animal wardens who may find it easier to call for information especially if they have no internet access when working remotely or outside normal business hours.
In the interim, it is already a requirement for all databases to be interoperable via the Database Checking Protocol issued by Defra, therefore ALL compliant UK databases on the Defra list are linked to check-a-chip.co.uk and are required to provide a similar look-up function on their own websites – and most will display a website and phone number for the database the microchip is registered on. Any searcher should be able to find out where a microchip is registered, whichever database website they visit, and be only be two clicks or two phone calls away from getting the information they need.
It’s important to remember that a single point of search (or a single database for that matter) is not a cure-all for out-of-date contact information, unregistered microchips, pets registered to the wrong keeper or duplicate records registered on another database without any checks that a pet is lost, stolen or subject to an ownership dispute.
It should be incumbent on all stakeholders in the animal welfare lifecycle to remind pet owners at every opportunity to make sure their microchip registration details are up to date. Many databases already send regular reminders for keepers to update their information.
Compliant UK databases can be found at https://www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-cat-microchipped
For more information about AMDO visit https://www.amdo.org.uk/
Further information and updates about SPoS, connected databases and approved providers can be found at https://www.amdo.org.uk/spos/
Approved SPoS providers can be found at https://www.amdo.org.uk/approved-spos-solutions/
