To think it is long overdue that we brought in dog licencing

I don’t object in principle,but it will only be responsible owners who get a licence and we don’t have the resources to police it.

If you don't pay car tax the car gets impounded, and then if you don't pay the release fine the car gets destroyed. The same could work for dogs.

And completely agree with licensing!

I do agree with you but if I remember correctly, it used to be a lot worse. When I was a kid ,45-50 years ago, a lot of people had dogs but they used to run loose, as in not walked on a lead, just let to run loose and find their way home whenever they wanted. That's when crap on the streets was obviously much worse. It still happens when dogs are walked, but not on the scale that I remember.
You go to a place like Rome, where dogs just roam freely, and you'll see a lot more shit than you do over here.

Bring it on. (dog owner)

Totally agree, high time those who have dogs pay for the social cost of cleaning up after them (and I am a dog owner, it’s a choice, I do pick up but am sick of crap smearwd streets because of those that don’t).

Lol yeah but there's nothing they and the royal mail can do, obviously we get told if we don't feel safe delivering somewhere we can mark it as inaccessible which is great for loose dogs, dangerous paths and stuff. But if I marked every house that's got dog shit near it as inaccessible no one would ever get any mail and I'd lose my job.

I'd happily pay for a licence for mine. Honestly though, it won't work. The admin behind tracking down dog owners and getting them to pay is just unfathomable. Think about the logistics -there are thousands and thousands of dogs in the UK who are not registered with vets, not microchipped and have been purchased through dodgy dealers. How do you even start to find out who has one? If they say they don't? Do you take those who won't pay to court? What about those who can't afford to pay? Are their dogs destroyed?
£100 a year (from those who would pay) won't even touch the sides of covering the costs of daily wardens, admin, dna databases, prosecution, street cleaners etc across the entire UK.
I don't disagree with you at all, but it's logistically not that simple unfortunately.

I'm interested in the proposed new Code of Practice for getting a dog that is being drawn up in Scotland. Whereby people are expected to read a checklist of all the things owning a dog involves and sign to the effect that they have read this.

I don't know if whether it will have any effect but any moves to try and address all the problems irresponsible dog ownership is causing people everywhere has got to be welcomed.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceq9g31v88ro

The thing is if I as a dog owner have to pay for dog wardens, street cleansing etc then can I have a refund on services I don’t use? Licences won’t work unless you have admin to make sure people buy them.
BTW I do pick up my dogs poo but equally have to frequently dodge dog poo even right next to a bin. Some people will never pick up after their dogs.

That will only make it easier for people to leave their poo unchecked though, if they think someone else is going to pick it up .

I don't object to a dog licence, but don't really see the point, I remember them being around and they were very cheap, probably about a fiver in today's money. The money went into general taxation (I think). There was much, much more poo back then (usually white and crumbly due to the high amount of calcium in dog food back then).

How much would it cost to set up and run the bureaucracy of the licencing system? Someone has to check the paperwork, issue the licence, send annual reminders, maintain the database and keep it up to date. Surely most of the licensing fee would need to go on that?

And given that people buy and sell animals on gumtree and Facebook with almost no checks, how would licencing be enforced? Compulsory carrying of a licence when a dog is in public? Who would check that? How many dog wardens would you need to have them do spot checks on random dog walkers to see if their paperwork is in order?

The reason they abandoned the licences in the UK was that they were widely ignored and impossible to enforce. You’d end up with a situation where responsible dog owners paid a huge fee (which it would have to be to make any money for dog wardens and nightly hose downs) but they are the ones already picking up after their dogs and keeping them under control. Meanwhile irresponsible dog owners would just ignore the licence (they already probably don’t get their dog chipped, which is theoretically a legal requirement) and let their dogs foul everywhere.

Yeah nobody is going to pay that, I'm sorry but the dog shit police aren't going to happen. Also how do you enforce the rules against those who have a dog with no license? I imagine thousands wouldn't bother and police hardly do anything about actual actionable crimes let alone reports of somebody who doesn't have a dog license. Charities are already overrun so no impending of unlicensed dogs.

Dog haters who have no idea how a society actually functions will come along telling you that it's a marvelous plan though 😉

Great idea. I like dogs but the sheer number now means pavements, trees and verges are being trashed so there should be a cost for them in urban areas

I don’t think people would pay! I picked up a dog that was running on the main road, paced up and down trying to find an owner to avail! Took them to the vets to look for a microchip and they couldn’t get ahold of the owner so they held onto the dog and tried several more times. 3 days later they then went to the dog warden and was in kennels for a week. The owner did contact the kennels but said he wouldn’t pay the £80 to release him.

There are many dog owners out there that really should not have dogs at all. They do not care about them enough and would rather they were taken than pay any fine!

I wouldn't have a problem paying for a dog licence but what plans do you have for the dogs that remain unlicensed? I understand that shelters are already overwhelmed with illegal bully dogs. I can't imagine such careless owners would stir themselves to bother with a dog licence.

I rescue dogs that no one else wants, usually because of how they’ve been treated by humans in the past. I’d happily pay a hefty price for a licence but to try and stop shit people owning and abusing dogs more than for street cleaning purposes. Will the nightly hose down get to bypass any non dog related mess?