Councils should start taxing dog owners

[NigelGresley]

In order to afford more dog wardens and have more resources to deal with those people who don’t pick up after their dogs.

I live in what would be considered to be a nice area, however it seems that half the dog owners can’t be bothered to pick up after their dogs and the streets are an absolute mess. I’m absolutley sick of it.

Our council has to make even more cuts over the next year, which will be felt more severely than any others in the past as this is now going to seriously impact social care, SEN provision, social work etc.... councils could generate additional income to deal with the problem caused by irresponsible dog owners.

You’ll probably ask how is it fair for all dog owners to be penalised due to a “minority”. However you could apply this argument to many other areas that we all collectively pay for, but may not benefit from.

So it’s time to take action to deal with dirty dog owners once and for all!!

I’ve never understood the argument about no dogs in flats. I know many dog owners who live in flats who ensure their dogs have plenty of exercise and fresh air. A garden does not mean you are a better dog owner. Too many people think a garden is substitute for exercise. My garden is useful because the dog gets a sniff and it’s easier so I can be lazy and not go outside when he needs the toilet. It’s convenient for me but he’d still need the same amount of exercise.

I’d happily have a dog licence but, as other said, the irresponsible dog owners wouldn’t get one, so I’d be paying for them and it’d solve very little. The DNA matching thing is beyond ridiculous.

Something definitely needs to be done
We need limits on dogs per household too

I've only skim read thread - but I absolutely support the idea of a dog ownership licence. To drive a car you need to pass a test, and pay insurance. Nobody disagrees that half a ton of metal capable of 70+ mph is dangerous in the hands of an untrained person. So why do we allow complete novices to have sole charge of a carnivore with sharp teeth? I'd love to see a dog test being mandatory before anyone can keep one. Then an annual licence and insurance fee. Obviously there would be exemptions for registered assistance dogs for disabled people. The dog test would include basic healthcare, diet, training, and owner's legal responsibilities. The insurance would include 3rd party liability.

Oh and the annual fee would be 1000% higher for any un-neutered dog aged over 12 months!

Money raised to be ring fenced for animal welfare (NOT via RSPCA who are pretty useless) and wardens to patrol and enforce.

The systems where they have a dog DNA database to trace people who've not picked up their poop seems to work. So implement it here and fine every single person for every single turd.

We have a spaniel who likes to crap at least 5 times a day for a laugh. I manage to collect them every single time simply because it's part and parcel of owning the phantom crapper. It's the simplest of tasks. Only a complete arsehole walks away from their dog's turds and those people deserve to be fined every single time.

Sounds like a good idea and would like it extended to cats and people who drop litter please.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,
Dog owners who do not pick up their dog shite should be made to eat it

As a dog owner I would like to see the return of dog licensing, but not a tax.
Assistance dogs would be exempt.
Dog ownership should not be taken lightly, they need a lot of care. If you can’t afford say £90 for a dog license as a one off, you can’t afford to vaccinate, worm, de-flea and meet any veterinary/ insurance costs that might arise in the future.

I agree. I think people should be required to get a dog licence and do a course before they get the licence, which covers their responsibilities as a dog owner - such as picking up POO!

Jorge people who drop litter should have it inserted into an orifice imo

@Schuyler I wish I could post pictures I really do. And yes they are all staff x and bloody malamutes. Actually a new trend is Australian kelpies.

The trouble with things like dog licences and insurance and additional tax is that many responsible dog owners will do what it takes. It doesn’t solve the issue of the total idiots who let their dogs shit everywhere, neglect their animals and allow their dogs to be a nuisance to the public. I don’t know what the solution is but I know the RSPCA set their bar too high and rarely act in situations where I think they should. Some people don’t deserve dogs.

Any legislation which puts restrictions on dog owners will be lobbied against by the pet industry because they want to continue with increased profits

nothing will happen, things will just get worse and worse
shittier and shittier

The pet industry promotes the dog=child/ my fur baby is as important as human babies message because it makes people want more pets and want to spend more on their pet.

I fully support a dog license, dogs are potentially dangerous and also a really big commitment. I see a worrying number of people my age getting dogs on a whim to live in their tiny rented flat with their full time jobs and I always feel really sad for the poor dogs. Dogs should be expensive, they are a live animal that you are wholly responsible for. I think it would make people think twice because I think a lot of people seem to think dogs are like toys.

I know everyone on Mn is always a responsible dog owner but actually every one of my friends with dogs has left poo when I've walked their dog with them. Ive had to pick up my friends dogs poo in the past, when I don't particularly want to walk their dog in the first place because I'm obviously not going to leave it. But how often are they doing it when on the very few walks I've been on they've left it. Theres dog poo everywhere where I live, I'm suspicious that the majority of dog owners pick up their dogs poo all the time.

I don't think a dog tax is the ridiculous idea some people on this thread think it is, we tax a lot of things on top of basic tax like alcohol, cigarettes, cars, tv license, petrol, VAT. Most luxuries are taxed, dogs (barring service dogs) are luxuries, really big luxuries because like I said above they are a whole life, my problem is is I don't think it will solve the issue.

You can't compare it to children, children are human beings they don't belong to someone and they will go on to pay their own tax later in life.

All dogs should be registered, microchipped and licensed
Fines and confiscations enforced if not registered, microchipped and licensed
Dogs should be on leads in public places. Owners of dogs off leads should be fined
Allowing your dog to foul public areas should carry a heavy fine that should be enforced
Sticking your bagged up dog shit in other people's private bins or hanging bags of shit from trees should be considered just the same as fouling a public area.
Dog breeding should be strictly regulated
Money collected from fines, registrations and licensing should be used to employ dog wardens with hotlines to report stray or endlessly barking dogs, bins for dog shit etc etc

It can make children blind to fall into dog poo. It is dangerous.

Yes, it is. Which is why responsible dog owners regularly worm their dogs. Those will be the same owners who pick up the poo, microchip their dogs, and have pet insurance. The problem dog-owners won't pay a dog tax anymore than they take any of these other responsibilities seriously either.

By the way cat poo and fox poo can also contain the roundworm parasite that causes toxocariasis so all cat owners would need to be included in this tax too. Since foxes have no owners, I suggest we assign them to the remaining population who don't have cats or dogs. Those people could be responsible for picking up the fox poo - then I wouldn't have to scrub my dog for half an hour after she's been for a run in the fields.

Great idea!

No. I pay huge amounts of council tax. I don't have children, the police never come out when you call them, I only get my bins emptied for all that money. And I pick up after my dog. I'm not paying more. YABU

Also, I'd love to know where all these places are that swamped in dog shit. I hardly ever see any and I go all over the UK

Oh and can I tax the parents of the kids that drop their litter over my front wall into my garden every morning on their way to school (that I also pay for but don't get any use out of)?

Dog owners by and large regard their dogs as metaphorical children
don't tell me that's not the case, why do you think the first response to a complaint about dogs is 'blah blah blah what about children, children do this children do that' etc
Your dog is merely and purely a personal indulgence, it is a hobby a living artefact, it has no use nor ornament to anyone but you

you get lots of fun and pleasure out of it, to everyone else it's a pain in the ass that shits everywhere

Children on the other hand (although they can be trying) do in the main grow up and for example staff care homes work in the hospitals keep the public services running etc etc they are part of society

Yeah dogs serve no purpose at all. Let's hope you never lose your sight, or your hearing, or your ability to pick things up, or need rescuing from a mountain.
We don't need bomb sniffer dogs or drug dogs or police dogs.
Therapy dogs that ease suffering of mental health patients, bring joy to children and the elderly in hospitals.

My dog is not my child. Not is she an ornament. She's my dog. And she brings joy to everyone who meets her. I'm not sure the same could be said for some of the miserable sods on this thread.

How much would the tax be?

I’m going to stick my head above the parapet here and say it’s a generational thing.
Dog owners below mid 30s-40s are pretty good at picking up. The older generation are really squeamish about it and pretend they haven’t noticed squatting dog if it’s not directly on the path.

This is a purely anecdotal observation, based on walking dogs for the last 14 yrs.

I plucked up the courage to challenge someone about leaving her dog’s shit the other day and she cried and said she couldn’t bend down anymore .
I picked it up for her and waffled about pooper scoopers etc but she was obviously baffled and irritated and I utterly failed to make a point.

There’s nothing more dispiriting than arriving home on a winter’s day with nicely tired children to spend the whole of their nap time scrubbing dogshit off shoes and pushchair wheels.
There has to be a sea change in how we share our public spaces.

It’s not a small minority though. Seems to be the bloody vast majority around here. Or one very very unwell dog...

There is one on the pavement near my house just now. It’s fucking massive. Right there in the middle of the pavement.