AIBU to think we should have stricter rules for owning dogs/cats?

[neathanderallady]

Inspired by the pet insurance thread.

But AIBU to think that dog tax, compulsory pet insurance and registering on a database would be a brilliant idea? As far as I know, some countries used to have systems like this.

So you’d pay a small amount each month- not too much, just enough to give you the ‘right’ to own a pet.

Insurance would then be mandatory. To be eligible to pay the dog tax to legally own a dog or cat, you would have to have proof of insurance.

All dogs would be registered and microchipped.

I guess there would be legal consequences for not doing so.

Good or bad?

I’m just thinking of all the stray dogs, people who can’t afford insurance but have the dog/cat anyway and then have a suffering animal, etc...

We're way too over regulated as it is. The last thing we need is yet more red tape.

Bluelady as an ex animal shelter worker I can assure you there is. Anyone can buy a dog/domestic animal (I’m focusing on dogs as they are more likely to be a public risk) no matter their age, experience, finances etc. Anyone can breed a dog no matter their knowledge or care for them too.

If one centre for one charity has around 10 dogs a week coming in, 2 reunited with owners, the rest strays or abandoned or brought in by owners, times that buy however many branches of rescue centres you can thing of. Add in some smaller charities taking in 5 a month. You might get an idea of the scale of the problem. It’s far greater than many realise.

That’s not taking into account the people who are loving owners, who keep their dogs but don’t know how to train or read them etc which is pretty common too.

I would like to see the breeding of dogs/cats to be severely curtailed to the point of illegal unless they are a recognised registered breeder.

With scope to health check, chose their dam/sire, severe restrictions on the numbers of litters.
I know good breeders will already do this and take an animal back but their prices can be prohibitive. Though it would cut down on people who just let their animals breed because they CBA spaying/castrating or they think its "nice" to have a litter or its "better for the animal".
But it may lead to pregnant animals being culled.

Proper sentences and total life bans of ownership would help.

And ban sales on Gumtree type sites of live animals

so if you see someone not picking up their dog shit or a dog that is a nuisance you can just point your phone at it and Report The Dog and the owner

or find out where that pretty young girl lives ?
or report your ex out of spite even if he has picked it up?
or get someone a fine when the animals were out with the dog walker?

@Metoo have you reported him?

I think it should be the law that cats as well as dogs must be microchipped. This would save a lot of hassle and heartache if a cat gets hit and killed by a car. But I think that making insurance compulsory might backfire,because people would avoid taking their pet to the vet if they weren't insured,for fear of being found out. They would then condemn their pet to unnecessary suffering. I think if people WANT to pay for pet insurance,fine,that's up to them. If they don't want to and are sure they will be able to afford the vet's bills if their pet became ill or was injured,then that's up to them.

Sorry OP but I think you are being completely unreasonable. I choose not to have insurance for my cats and have never financially regretted it. I also firmly believe that pet insurance can at times (note the word 'can') drive inappropriate behaviours from both vets and owners with the main winners being the insurance companies.
The only effects that the legislation you are suggesting would have would be to prevent the poor from enjoying pet ownership and to prevent people taking their 'illegal' pets to the vet for fear of being found out.

And as for people suggesting that only 'qualified breeders' should be allowed to breed animals - it is 'qualified breeders' who have produced for example dog breeds that can't breathe properly or have hip problems and cat breeds with deformed faces resulting in eye problems or with no fur. Great idea - leave it to the professionals to produce some hideous genetic mutation causing lifelong health problems so long as it looks 'cute' and goes with your decor.

Neither the RSPCA nor the Kennel Club are showing any desire to address the problems that result from the dog industry being so unregulated. Reputable breeders are up against show standards that encourage unhealthy traits. And nothing is ever done about disreputable breeders churning out litter after litter of currently fashionable breeds and crosses, sold to people who haven't a clue about how to care for a dog. Meanwhile anyone can describe themselves as a dog trainer or behaviourist and charge hundreds of pounds to give advice that may or may not be of any use.

Insuring an older cat is almost impossible. I wanted to change our insurance company recently as the cost had got stupidly high. No new insurance would take her on (she's 15) I ended up stopping our existing policy and we just put some extra aside each month now (yes we can afford to treat her in the mean time if we need to)

I think pet health insurance should be up to the owner. I know of a couple of families who regard vets bills as something that might have to come out of the emergency fund, but save regularly into that fund for just that reason. I don't have health insurance for my cat but would consider it for a dog, mainly because my cat leads a very quiet life, she's too timid to leave my garden, whereas a dog is more likely to encounter things that might cause injury. However third party liability insurance for dogs ought to be compulsory.

I agree with pet insurance but not a pet tax

I wish cats had to be microchipped. A couple of times I've found a dead cat by the side of the road. Presumably it was someone's much-loved pet but neither had a collar so I had no way of letting the owner know what had happened. The police took no interest, probably because they couldn't identify the cats either.

I agree with this. My DH once ran over a cat, and was really upset that he had no way of informing the owner. He did ask around, even called a couple of veterinary surgeries. He felt awful about it, as we have 4 cats.

I think by law you have to report it if you run over a dog, but not with cats.

I agree with chipping cats

Mine is chipped. She was done whilst she was being speyed. She doesn't wear a collar because she freaks out when she has one on.

The pet industry generates huge profits they encourage you to think of your dog or cat as a human... that way you'll spend a lot more money on it
if it's ill instead of having it put down you'll spend lots of money on vets bills
breeders who breed animals with a genetic defects which lead to serious illnesses just mean higher profits for vets

My cats are all microchipped as well. I've tried with collars, but they've always got rid of them straightaway. I would very much approve of the idea of a national database, where vets can also confirm that their vaccinations are up to date. Catteries would then be able to check online, meaning that we wouldn't have the endless faff of having to produce vaccination certificates.

They do that at the DVLA after all. No road tax discs needed, which is brilliant.

I would settle for strict animal welfare standards for schools who have animals. I have seen and heard so many horror stories about schools that have pets such as rabbits or guinea pigs, and do not provide anywhere near the required level of care. Common issues are very small cages, lack of a decent diet, and children not being properly supervised when handling animals.
There is so much ignorance around what pets need.