All domestic cats in the Netherlands will have to be chipped and registered from 2026, junior agriculture minister Jean Runmmenie has said.

The legal obligation to have cats chipped, proposed by Rummenie’s predecessor Piet Adema in 2023, aims to reunite lost cats with their owners.

There are some 2.9 million domestic cats in the Netherlands, 90,000 of which go missing each year.  According to bird protection organisation Vogelbescherming the Netherlands also has some 500,000 strays but it is unclear if they will be included in the scheme.

Feral cats, thought to number 1.2 million, are culled in some provinces because of the damage they do to the bird population.

The identifying chip will also make it easier to talk to owners about their (lack of) care for the animal. The procedure costs some €20 and can already be done voluntarily. The Netherlands introduced compulsory chips and registration for dogs in 2013.