RSPCA

The RSPCA this month launched the Improving Dog Ownership report detailing how the introduction of a new and improved dog licensing scheme could help to improve the lives of Britain’s 10 million dogs through licensing and microchipping.

In 2009, the total cost of dogs to the UK’s public sector reached £100 million. Far from being ‘a tax on responsible owners’, the introduction of a dog licensing scheme could help to cover these costs by funding extensive health and welfare strategies and making owners more accountable for their dogs and their actions.

The last dog registration scheme in Great Britain was abolished in 1987 when it was deemed uneconomical and widely ineffective. In 2010, with two thirds of UK dog owners supporting the re-introduction of dog licensing, we are recommending to government that a new and improved annual licence is reintroduced at a yearly fee of £20 -£30 per dog (with some discounts applicable depending on circumstances). We also want microchips be used for dog identification purposes.

We urge you to read the report and tell us what you think. We’ll use your comments to support our argument for the introduction of a responsible dog ownership scheme.