UK Man Prevented From Finding Chipped Pet Under Data Protection Act

Dave Moorhouse was elated when he was informed that a microchip provider had information on the whereabouts of his stolen dog. This joy soon faded when the company informed him that it could not divulge the Jack Russell terrier's location because it would breach the Data Protection Act. Last week a court agreed with the chip company and refused Mr Moorhouse's request for a court order compelling them to reveal the name and address of the new owners. Steven Wildridge, managing director of the chip company said: “This is not a choice, it’s an obligation under the Data Protection Act. If the individuals involved do not want us to pass on their details to the original owner then we cannot do so unless compelled to following a criminal or civil proceeding."

Comments

Re:So they can just keep stolen property then?

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize that those things you whine about US courts doing have a long precedent within common law history, no? The people whining about "activist judges" know shit about their country's judicial heritage.

Re:So they can just keep stolen property then?

[BitZtream]

Every shelter in existence has the rfid readers to know that a dog has been chipped, it costs them WAY less money to return it than to adopt it out, so it didn't go to the pound.

Microchips _move_ within the body, and it's not uncommon for some people to only check the neck and miss a chip which migrated down to the elbow.

I'm pretty sure you would have failed anatomy in vet school. The chips are put in behind the neck and there is no possible way for it to migrate to the elbow, it just doesn't work that way.

Second, on a dog that size, you could pretty much hold the scanner anywhere near the dog and wave it slightly and end up detecting the chip.

Please don't talk about animals like you have a clue, you sound like some retarded vet tech or vet tech assistant who doesn't have any idea what you're talking about.

Of course, this wouldn't have been a problem if he hadn't left the dog tied up unattended in his yard...

You're an idiot.