Starting Jan. 1, 2026, cat owners in Taiwan must microchip their pets or pay fines up to $477.

Starting January 1, 2026, cat owners in Taiwan must microchip their pets or face fines up to NT$15,000 ($477), expanding a rule already applied to dogs since 2008. The move, part of a 2024 regulatory change, aims to improve pet accountability, reduce abandonment and illegal breeding, and help reunite lost animals with owners. Microchips also track spaying and neutering compliance. By late 2024, voluntary efforts had increased microchipped cats to 164,388 out of an estimated 1.31 million in Taiwan.