# Renewed calls for dog licence as abandonments soar



## testmg80 (Jul 28, 2008)

*From the RSPCA*

We are renewing our calls for the introduction of a dog licence to help tackle the rising problem of abandoned dogs.

Between January and April 2010 we received more than 3,500 calls from members of the public about dumped dogs. A total of 4,966 dogs have already been abandoned.

New figures show that we are now receiving a call about an abandoned dog every hour.

Throughout 2009, in the grip of the credit crunch, we took 11,574 calls about abandoned dogs and we are worried that this year could hold a similar fate for even more animals.

Benefits of a dog licencing scheme
We are working with other animal welfare groups and relevant authorities to develop the first government-backed approach to manage the most pressing problems associated with dog ownership.

The introduction of a dog licence could tackle a wide range of dog welfare problems which stem from the lack of traceable ownership.

The funding from a licence scheme could be ploughed into tackling key issues including:

abandonments
anti-social dog behaviour such as dog attacks
the risks to human health from dog-related diseases
irresponsible dog breeding
deliberate cruelty to dogs.

Criminal offence
Under the Animal Welfare Act, those found guilty of abandoning an animal could face a fine of up to £20,000 and/or six months in prison.

Our head of external affairs, David Bowles, said:

Every year, we sadly see thousands of dogs heartlessly abandoned throughout England and Wales. The RSPCA and various organisations work tirelessly to help the poor animals who are cast aside in such a wreckless manner.

But we believe that a dog licencing scheme could provide a solution to this ongoing problem and help make sure that people who do dump their dogs dont get away with this criminal offence.

We hope that an effective licencing scheme providing traceable ownership could help to track down the people who are committing a criminal offence by abandoning an animal.

Public support
Earlier this year, we revealed strong public support for the reintroduction of a dog licence.

In a TNS poll, 76 per cent of people asked said that a dog licence should be enforced in England to help curb problems such as animal abandonments*.

The survey also found that 2 out of 3 (66 per cent) of the dog owners asked would be in favour of a licence scheme.

We have submitted these results in response to the consultation on dangerous dog legislation recently conducted by the UK government.

Your support
We rely entirely on your generous donations. Please donate online today so we can continue to improve the lives of animals.

The TNS poll

The TNS poll commissioned by the RSPCA asked 1,017 adults between the ages of 16-64 in Great Britain in February 2010.

The poll asked 334 dog owners and 683 non-dog owners for their views.

*76% of the total people asked and 66% of dog owners asked are in favour of the reintroduction of a dog licence.

A total of 771 people asked were in favour of a licence, 145 people asked were against it and 101 people asked did not know.


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## Montys_Mum (Jun 4, 2010)

Totally agree with the idea of bringing it back. If people can't look after their pets, for whatever reason, they should do the sensible thing and take it to a dog rehoming charity, they may find the charity can help them with costs of treatment, meaning that they can keep their pet.
Just 2 weeks ago my husband was bitten twice by a dog and the owner didn't even apologise, it drew blood so he had to get an updated tetanus shot. He is too kind hearted and didn't want to see the dog put down, he was thinking of how he'd react if it was our puppy, but Monty is too kind to bite! slobber yes, bite no. And today a colleague was bitten! Again he didn't report it as the elderly owner got so upset when he confronted him. But I think they both should have reported it, what if it had been a child bitten?.
The only concern would be the 'dodgy' owners that wouldn't licence at all. Perhaps spot checks by police would catch these type of owners and they can be fined, or have their dog removed. Time to get tough!


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## Zaros (Nov 24, 2009)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they abolish the dog licence system because, people rarely bought one despite the fee being so minimal. (The scheme was never properly monitored) I also believe the secondary reason for abolishing the licence was because it was actually costing more in administration. 
I fail to see how a licence will reduce the number of unwanted/abandoned/abused dogs to be honest? 
Perhaps it's more of a revenue thing?


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## rocco33 (Dec 27, 2009)

Like all these attempts at trying to make owners (and breeders) responsible, it will only be the good ones that do it anyway. I'm not in favour of dog licences simply because so many wouldn't bother (unless it was properly policed and dog owners had their licences checked, but I doubt that would happen) - if they can't manage it with driving licences, how are they going to do it with dog licences.

What I think may be a better system is to have compulsory microchipping, done by breeders (before pup leaves therefore the onus is on the breeder - and the breeder will also need to keep meticulous records - it will also be on the onus of owners to update details if they move the dog on, otherwise they will have the responsibility for it), although many byb will fall through the net, I suspect it will be more effective than licences.


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## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

*The dog licence didn't work the last time we had it and i can't see it working this time.*


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## rocco33 (Dec 27, 2009)

Just to add, it's been many years since I've been involved in horses, but I believe microchipping and having a 'passport' is now compulsory for horses. Why can't something similar be introduced for dogs?


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## rocco33 (Dec 27, 2009)

And completely off topic, just did a google search on horse passports and came across this law that I wasn't aware of.



> The Breeding of Dogs Act 1999 states that bitches should not be mated until they are at least one year old.


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## Sam1309 (May 18, 2010)

i come from NI were you have to license you dog and i am 100% for it being brought in over in eng (currently living in dorset)

due to the license in NI if you dog goes missing the warden looks for it, free of charge, and if found it is returned to you asap, without it goign to a pound or kennels.

also it means that an eye can be kept on certain breeds and the breeding habits of certain individuals...........


for £5 a year???????? i'd pay someone £500 a day to look for my lost pooch if i could afford it


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## flufffluff39 (May 25, 2009)

I agree with it wholeheartedly. I did'nt mind paying it years ago and I would say there were less abandoned/stray dogs then!!!


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## pickle (Mar 24, 2008)

I have no objection to it, but honestly can't see everyone complying. How could it be enforced? It was always a voluntary thing and I personally never heard of anyone getting "caught" for not having a dog license.


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## Izzie999 (Nov 27, 2008)

Hi,

Over here in Switzerland dog licenses are compulsary,you have to get a dog licence before buying a puppy and breeders are very strict about you providing proof of the dog license before releasing a puppy into your care,I think it applies if you get a dog from a rescue too.

New dog owners also have to participate in dog training classes. I think its great as it promotes responsible dog ownership.

Izzie


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## poohdog (May 16, 2010)

Glad it works out in your country...
Trouble is with the UK we are plagued with licences and permissions for every damn thing we do...our lives are controlled by the state in everything thanks to Blair and his Stasi...

A person with a camera can even be stopped and questioned under the over the top terrorism act for photographing a British policeman or a railway engine.
The cops are loving it...they can bully everybody now because they can find you're doing something wrong even if you're just admiring the view.

We don't need more rules and regulations...we need less.


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## lucysnewmum (Feb 25, 2010)

i dont believe any compulsory licensing or microchipping regulations will work because:-
a) those with criminal intentions do not have any regard for any laws
b) not all breeders are reputable and wouldnt give two monkeys ass.....s whether or not an owner had a license
c) the police, dog wardens etc havent got the man power to police it
d) the only people who would comply with the proposed new laws are those who can least afford yet another tax
e) the money raised wouldnt go back into animal welfare supporting the scheme
f) microchipping a dog already fails as not all vets, dog wardens, police, rspca inspectors etc have the scanners and it would be too expensive to provide them all with one
g) the introduction of these proposed legislations would increase the amount of dogs being abandoned by folk who couldnt afford to comply

as a trainer i am getting more and more phone calls from worried owners about this and the majority are keen to prove that they are responsible owners. in my opinion, the best way to tackle anti sociable behaviour from dogs is to promote the necessity for at least very basic obedience training and education about dog welfare needs.


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

*Micro-chipping is all very well as long as owners keep their details up to date on the register, especially if they sell or give away the dog.* When I was a dog warden I often had to impound dogs whose owners had not updated phone numbers, addresses and even dogs who had been sold or given away ages before by the previous owner and the new owner had not changed the details with Identichip etc. Plus of course, I also had dogs in whose chip was un-readable. Chipping is not the magic thing they make it out to be.


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## Acacia86 (Dec 30, 2008)

I come from an Island that actually has dog tax/licence still in standing. And i can it has NO hold whatsoever :frown: i know plenty people who have dogs that are '''not declared'''

I personally do tax my dog, its an annual fee for a very small sum of money, but then all responsible owners and the small amount of good breeders on the Island DO tax their dogs (and any pups they have).........the ''bad'' ones do not.

So in all fairness while it sounds good on paper it does not happen that way (i did a small study) only the responsible do it...........


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## Zaros (Nov 24, 2009)

poohdog said:


> Trouble is with the UK we are plagued with licences and permissions for every damn thing we do...our lives are controlled by the state in everything thanks to Blair and his Stasi...
> 
> A person with a camera can even be stopped and questioned under the over the top terrorism act for photographing a British policeman or a railway engine.
> The cops are loving it...they can bully everybody now because they can find you're doing something wrong even if you're just admiring the view.
> ...


Britain is being choked to death by red tape and the only reason they want you to read and write is so that you're able to fill out their never ending river forms. I'm surprised people don't have to fill out an application form just to visit the toilet.  
The law requires you to hold a licence to drive a car but it still doesn't stop a driver from being thoroughly irresponsible or negligent.


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

My daughter lives in Northern Ireland where they have the dog license and her friend works in a dog shelter there. The license and chipping has made little difference to the amount of abandoned dogs and many do not bother with the license or chipping anyway. Unless a law is enforced and people checked up on, it doesn't work. It's not as though dogs carry a large visible license plate to make checking easy!


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## London Dogwalker (Oct 27, 2009)

The thing I find laughable is that this is from the RSPCA who have said they are no longer taking surrendered dogs into their care, don't they understand that people may be abandoning them because they can't surrender them anywhere?  What do they want people to do when they don't want their dogs anymore, PTS?? :frown:

Unless it was a huge Government backed scheme which included the need for training classes and was heavily monitored I cannot see the point of it at all! It just means the law abiding folk cough up, and the ones who ARE abandoning their dogs won't bother with a license or chip and will still abandon their dogs.


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

London Dogwalker said:


> Unless it was a huge Government backed scheme which included the need for training classes and was heavily monitored I cannot see the point of it at all! It just means the law abiding folk cough up, and the ones who ARE abandoning their dogs won't bother with a license or chip and will still abandon their dogs.


You have summed it up perfectly.


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