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How would dog licensing work in the UK?
Further to the special report 'RSPCA Call For Restoration Of The Dog License'
by Nick Mays, News Editor
• Historical Note:
by Nick Mays, News Editor
• Historical Note:
The Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher scrapped the dog licence in 1987, as it cost far more to collect and enforce than it raised revenue.
The RSPCA had a major falling-out with the KC in 1988 when it published its infamous ‘dead dog mountain’ poster, which read: “When the Government Killed the Dog Licence, they left Us to clean up their Mess”. The poster was the brainchild of the RSPCA’s then Director of Campauigns, Gavin Grant, who effectively blamed the KC for opposing dog registration. This led to a major disagreement between the two organisation and saw the RSPCA banned from attending Crufts dog show for five years.
He rift was, however, healed in 1993 when the RSPCA and Kennel Club teamed up to create the lucrative PetLog microchip register.
But Would It Work?
In any event, current experience with the dog licensing/registration scheme in Northern Ireland clearly shows that it doesn’t work in practice and the money raised certainly is not ploughed back into dog warden services.
The registration fee for each dog is set at £5.00, but like the old dog licence was not index-linked. Had it kept pace with inflation, the fee would now be around £20, which again leads to the scenario that it costs far more for the dog warden service in Northern Ireland to collect the fee from defaulters than it generates revenue to pay for the service.
As far back as 1998, the failure of the system was made clear. Speaking at a conference on dog registration organised by the then NCDL (Dogs Trust’s former name), Nigel Cardwell, then Secretary of the National Dog Warden Association, who worked as a Senior Dog Warden in a Northern Irish local authority spoke out on the failure of the licensing/registration scheme.
As far back as 1998, the failure of the system was made clear. Speaking at a conference on dog registration organised by the then NCDL (Dogs Trust’s former name), Nigel Cardwell, then Secretary of the National Dog Warden Association, who worked as a Senior Dog Warden in a Northern Irish local authority spoke out on the failure of the licensing/registration scheme.
He explained how the 1983 Licensing Act worked, explaining that the definition of a dog's ‘keeper’ in the Act was that any dog found on a person's property made that person responsible for the dog if it had not been reported lost of stolen, so if that dog bit a postman, for example, the liability was that of the householder.
“There are a raft of penalties for NOT registering your dog,” said Mr Cardwell. “....All the powers the police had were given to the Dog Warden Service. Only trouble was, we didn't get the police budget!’
“There are a raft of penalties for NOT registering your dog,” said Mr Cardwell. “....All the powers the police had were given to the Dog Warden Service. Only trouble was, we didn't get the police budget!’
Mr Cardwell outlined some interesting statistics on how the scheme worked. The annual licence fee was £5.00 per dog. To the year ending 31st December 1997, 86,201 dogs out of a population of 1.5 million dogs had been registered.
“There are 26 Local Authorities in Northern Ireland,’ he said ‘The Province-wide income from registration was £400,000, which, after operating costs are taken off, leaves us with £15,384.61 to run the Dog Warden Service for a year!’
Even more alarming were the stray statistics for the same period. 1,853 strays were rounded up, 1,140 were destroyed and only 283 dogs were reclaimed.
In conclusion, he pointed out that, in talking about the need for dog registration, the public was not being confronted with the reality. ‘The whole system is one of enforcement, not education and change. If we want registration and licensing, then as well as effective law enforcement there must be a sustained education programme,’ said Mr Cardwell. ‘There needs to be a major effort to reduce the dog population by encouraging neutering and spaying, and this should be budgeted for. It's no use getting bigger buckets, we need to turn off the tap...”
Cost Factor?
So if a compulsory dog registration scheme were introduced into the UK, how much would it cost? Certainly, the rate as set in Northern Ireland of £5.00 per dog would not be enough. As long ago as 1998, the Pet Advisory Council’s projections for setting up a registration scheme based on the Economist Advisory Group's survey of 1998. PAC suggested that there be an annual ‘licence’ set at £29.00 per dog, or £47 for the life of the dog, with possible discounts for those owning Assistance Dogs. No suggestions were made as to discounts for elderly dog owners or owners of more than one dog.
Responsibility
The elephant in the corner of the room that is ignored by advocates of compulsory dog registration is simply this: Responsible dog owners would register their dogs, Irresponsible owners would not register their dogs. How would the irresponsible owners be ‘brought to book’? If they refused to acknowledge ownership of a dog found straying, what would the local authority do with that dog? The cost of policing the registration scheme would fall, as always, on the law abiding citizen… in this case, the responsible dog owner.
So if a compulsory dog registration scheme were introduced into the UK, how much would it cost? Certainly, the rate as set in Northern Ireland of £5.00 per dog would not be enough. As long ago as 1998, the Pet Advisory Council’s projections for setting up a registration scheme based on the Economist Advisory Group's survey of 1998. PAC suggested that there be an annual ‘licence’ set at £29.00 per dog, or £47 for the life of the dog, with possible discounts for those owning Assistance Dogs. No suggestions were made as to discounts for elderly dog owners or owners of more than one dog.
Responsibility
The elephant in the corner of the room that is ignored by advocates of compulsory dog registration is simply this: Responsible dog owners would register their dogs, Irresponsible owners would not register their dogs. How would the irresponsible owners be ‘brought to book’? If they refused to acknowledge ownership of a dog found straying, what would the local authority do with that dog? The cost of policing the registration scheme would fall, as always, on the law abiding citizen… in this case, the responsible dog owner.
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