To think they should bring back dog licenses

[trudynotmoody]

I think most dog owners are responsible and careful, but having dog licences might at least make some people think twice before getting one. The money could be used for RSPCA vets for people who can't afford vets bills.

I’ve never seen a dog warden. Has anyone?

Yes, there will be no record of the chip other than on the database of the supplier.

When the pet is scanned (whether dog or cat, also rabbit or horse and probably others) it will "say" which company it comes from (distinct formatting) so you know which company's database to check.

Pet owners only need to update details once with their provider (and you can register temporary details too, to cover holiday care) just by logging in. I think there's a fair amount of misunderstanding about how the chipping system works (having seen someone once insist it was too much trouble to get a new chip inserted for new details, clearly nor realising that it's an account settings change not a chip change)

One thing I do every few years is ask the vet (as part of the regular checks provided by membership of the vet club) to wave the wand over my dog to check that the chip has not failed.

Rather than a dog licence I'd make insurance compulsory (same as NI is in humans).
It's cruel that some animals go untreated because some owners can't afford a bill of thousands (and even saving premiums in a bank account can work out to far, far less than an emergency pay out.

Not only that but it would cover third party costs.

More people would be more responsible if they thought they might be hit in the pocket for a third party claim.

That's 1/4 of the dogs that make their way to Battersea, though, isn't it? Not all lost/strayed/stolen dogs, and definitely not all dogs

Battersea says there was a huge fall in the number of dogs referred to them since microchipping began - and they presume that's because many are successfully reunited with their humans from chips working as intended, following scanning by vets, charities and local authorities

So placing scanners say at parks are unlikely to do much

The chip in the dog is solely passive, and can be read only be a powered scanning device, and those sold as having an "extended read distance" can read it from about 10 cms away.

So no, I don't think placing scanners, which are smallish, hand held devices in public places will achieve anything. Not least as I expect they'd just get nicked/vandalised. And I doubt anyone would ever use them for anything other than maybe checking their own dogs chip was still working. Or perhaps if they'd caught a loose and apparently keeper-less dog and wanted to start the reuniting process on the spot