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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Is it time to bring back the dog licence?

85 replies

Flippetydip · 21/11/2016 12:50

On a family bike ride/run on Saturday having witnessed so many out of control dogs and ignorant owners, not to mention the streets being paved with dog muck, I was thinking, surely it must be time to reintroduce a dog licence. Would it make people think a bit more about getting a dog?

While we were out one Jack Russell went for my ankles and then stood there growling and barking at me. When I asked the owner to get it under control I was told "it's not my fault" - well yes it is, if you can't keep it under control, keep it on a lead.

As a disclaimer, I love dogs and we are likely to get on in the next few years but it will be trained and I will clear up after it.

OP posts:

Costacoffeeplease · 21/11/2016 16:39

Where I live (not uk) dogs have to be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies, then licensed by the local council at a cost of 12€ per year

We have a huge stray and street dog problem

StarryIllusion · 21/11/2016 16:42

You have to have a driving licence and people still drive like utter cunts. It won't help and is unenforceable.

TheNaze73 · 21/11/2016 17:11

I agree with wasonthelist but, make it a grand

Shiningexample · 21/11/2016 17:20

I think we need more dog free zones, perhaps restrictions on the number of dogs and cats per household, perhaps residential area's where dogs and cats are not permitted in households?

ForalltheSaints · 21/11/2016 18:44

A proper dog registration scheme yes, just a licence as another tax no. A scheme where dog owners have responsibilities and have to prove they have the space etc to look after an animal. No staffies in small flats for example.

Sybys · 21/11/2016 19:24

I think a dog license would be a very good idea.

It should be a requirement for an individual to produce their license when buying a dog, and for the breeder to register the purchase with the local authority. If someone is found to have a pet dog that wasn't registered to their license, then there should be a hefty fine (at least). If someone mistreated their pets, their license should be suspended or revoked. This would help clamp down on unlicensed breeding and protect dogs from bad owners.

I also think that it should be compulsory for each individual license holder to have insurance for their dog, in case it attacks or injures someone. Yes, serious dog attacks are fairly rare, but they do happen and can leave someone with life changing injuries, little legal recourse and no real prospect of recovering compensation.

It's impossible for legislation to make all dog owners responsible dog owners, but we could definitely do more to protect dogs and people alike.

Nataleejah · 21/11/2016 19:25

YABU
What about people on very low incomes, or the homeless?

PinkSwimGoggles · 21/11/2016 19:32

What about people on very low incomes, or the homeless?

simple. if they can't afford to keep a pet they should not have one.

Ceaser1981 · 21/11/2016 19:33

Unfortunately we live in a time when people who abuse dogs are not punished enough and are not policed when they are banned from owning more animals so i dont think brining a licence back would be policed appropriately. I own a dog, who walks off lead all of the time and i would never let him if he showed one bit of aggresson to anyone. We come across people who say oh you have a staffy he should be on a lead, when actually he is the one who was attacked by 2 Jack Russells and didnt fight back. When we went to the vet a sweet little spaniel wanted to go for him so it really is down to bad owners at the end of the day but there is not much we can do about it.

Nataleejah · 21/11/2016 19:40

simple. if they can't afford to keep a pet they should not have one.
Bullshit. One can technically afford to have a companion, yet not another tax or bureaucratic crap.

BarbaraofSeville · 21/11/2016 19:51

If they can't afford £50/100 a year for a licence, they can't afford food, insurance, vets bills etc, which cost a lot more and are necessary for a responsible owner. Maybe there could be a discount on licence fees if you take a rescue dog from a shelter.

Nataleejah · 21/11/2016 19:58

For vets fees, there are charities like PDSA. Food -- people actually share the last bite of their own food with their dogs.
Shelters -- they are very discriminating against potential adopters.
If licensing would apply similar criteria it would only marginalize and criminalize people by social class.

starchildareyoulistening · 21/11/2016 20:14

Much like compulsory microchipping, it's a fab idea in theory but falls flat in practice. Did you know that compulsory microchipping was brought in in April 2016? Because apparently none of the owners whose lost dogs I see all over my facebook feed did. The law now states that every puppy should be ID chipped by the age of 8 weeks old, ie while it's still with the breeder, and the breeder's details should be listed on the ID chip database so that throughout the dog's life it's always possible to check where it was originally bred and by whom. Adult dogs who were born before this law was passed are also legally required to be chipped - Dogs Trust did a big campaign in the run-up to the law change. If the dog warden finds out that your dog isn't chipped (ie if it goes missing and they pick it up) you're given 21 days to get it chipped - if you fail to comply you can be fined up to £500.
This law has changed not a single thing in the 7 months since it was brought in - good owners still take good care of their pets, shitty owners are still irresponsible, and there is no workable way of enforcing it. It's a shame.

PinkSwimGoggles · 21/11/2016 20:20

having a pet is not a right.
it's a luxury.

Nataleejah · 21/11/2016 20:27

Having a roof over your head is a luxury, having a family is a luxury, being alive is a luxury

PinkSwimGoggles · 21/11/2016 20:31

you seem to be mixing up necessities with luxuries.

since when is having a pet essential

starchildareyoulistening · 21/11/2016 20:34

While I'm writing essays, I hate to say it but no, people on very low incomes should NOT have dogs (or any pets they can't afford to look after). It's terribly unfair that they should be denied the pleasure a pet can bring, but having a pet is a LUXURY and not a human right. It is cruel to take on the care of an animal knowing that you would not be able to afford treatment if it became ill or injured. "Charities like the PDSA" (actually the PDSA is the only one, apart from the odd very small local group or individual) can only do so much, and they require the owner to be a registered member in advance (not, as most people do, never bothering to look into it and just assuming they will cover the bill when an emergency happens) and require the owner to pay at least a fraction of the bill themselves.

I have every sympathy for people who get a pet when they feel they're in a stable situation, and then in the future find their circumstances drastically altered and they are now struggling to provide for the pet that's been in the family for years. However I have no patience at all for people who are currently on a low income, who KNOW they are scraping by month-to-month, and who go out and get themselves a puppy or kitten anyway because they place their desire for a cute pet above the right of an animal to live a healthy life without undue suffering.

I may sound harsh about this but if you'd spent years seeing animals die slow painful deaths because the owner can't or won't take them to a vet, you'd be angry too. (Notable examples include a 6 month old puppy that died of peritonitis after its intestines ruptured because the owner refused to seek veterinary treatment after it ate a plastic toy, and a large dog that got a tiny grass seed in her foot which, over the course of weeks, caused an infection to spread all the way up her leg and eventually kill her because the owner refused to get antibiotics for her.) I'm sorry that these owners were in such dire financial straits that they couldn't afford veterinary treatment, but I'm more sorry for their pets that died in agony.

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 21/11/2016 20:41

Agree with starchild - a pet is a luxury, and people who can't afford one shouldn't get one.
I don't feel this way about low income families and children, but children are not a 'luxury'

Nataleejah · 21/11/2016 20:48

So... people who are/end up being in vulnerable situations, should be CRIMINALIZED for having a companion animal? And have that animal executed? (Let's not be naive about rehoming)

I work at a charity which looks after homeless. Often a dog is the only companion and warmth they have.

starchildareyoulistening · 21/11/2016 20:56

No, they just shouldn't get them in the first place. When I see homeless people with dogs I tend to assume that they had the dog before they became homeless, and I feel sorry for both owner and dog in that situation. I have actually considered setting up a charity to provide free veterinary treatment to the pets of homeless and vulnerable people, but I could never work out how to weed out the people who would abuse such a service by seeing it as a license to buy pets they can't care for in the assumption that someone else will foot the bill.

Beaniebeemer · 21/11/2016 21:14

IMO there are too many dog in society. People get dogs when they aren't fully committed to ownership and fast realise that having a dog is a massive commitment. I'm not sure whether having a licence would achieve much to be honest. Dogs are meant to be microchipped by law now but if you aren't a responsible owner then the chances are the dog won't be chipped. It will be the same with a licence.

Nataleejah · 21/11/2016 21:16

Its the same said about having children on benefit bashing threads and Daily Fail articles. Can't afford them - don't have them. Don't have sex if you can't afford supporting a family.

A companion animal is family to many people. And people don't always BUY them. Our own dog was unofficially rescued.

As for charities, Pdsa and Rspca require a document of benefit receipt.

starchildareyoulistening · 21/11/2016 21:28

Everyone has the right to make their own family planning decisions, whether that means having 2 children or 10 or none. That is a right everyone deserves and it would be a serious oppression to deny somebody that right. Having a pet is a lifestyle choice. The two are in no way comparable.

If I ever find myself in a position to be able to start a small charity, I think I'd try to run it alongside an existing organisation helping homeless people - we could help the dogs while the owners are receiving help too. Maybe with vouchers to be redeemed at a local vets, or maybe actually bringing volunteering vets to the shelter or wherever and providing basics like flea and worm treatment and vaccinations on the spot.

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 21/11/2016 21:36

I also don't think having a dog to having a child is in any way comparable. The latter is an entitlement of sorts as a human being, the former is a luxury

Nataleejah · 21/11/2016 21:44

Having NUMEROUS children is also a lifestyle choice (obviously a bad choice if your life is chaotic) and a luxury.

Back to 'dog tax'/licensing, if you say A, you need to say B -- what happens to people and dogs who can't afford it? A hefty fine? Yeah... They can't afford that either. Criminal record? Jail time?

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