All cats in Selwyn will need to be microchipped from July next year. Canterbury’s Selwyn district will be the first in the South Island to make microchipping cats mandatory, with owners facing fines of thousands of dollars if they breach the new laws. Selwyn District Council this week voted to adopt the Keeping Animals, Poultry and Bees Bylaw, setting out rules for keeping animals in urban areas, including new limits on backyard chicken and beehive numbers. All cats in the district over 4 months old will need to be microchipped by July 1 next year. Charlton said the council currently has no idea how many cats live in Selwyn.

Source: Stuff May 14, 2021 00:22 UTC