Do we need dog licences back?

[highway]

I am sick of seeing unpleasant people walking pit bull type dogs around. I work in an grim part of London and it's rife. Young blokes in the main, oversized chains linked to a harness holding said pit bull type dog.

I hear people saying;"ah but Staffies are lovely", maybe they are. Anyway, when I was a kid I'm sure my parents had to pay for a dog licence. I'm sure it wasn't that much, even back then. I haven't researched it o line, but obviously it was done away with at some point.

If a fee for a licence was reintroduced I'm sure the admin would likely negate any revenue raised. I'm not suggesting it would be an earner for Blightys battered economy. Would it discourage the irresponsible from dog ownership? Give the Police/council the power to ask dog owners to 'produce' their licences, much like you used to have to produce your driving docs, or face penalty if you haven't bought the licence (or confiscation of your dog) surely if you can afford to feed and look after a dog you can afford a licence?

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

[Crafty_]

So young chap with his pitbull has a dog licence in his pocket.

What does it change ?

[rs1952]

You are barking up the wrong tree for a number of reasons. Here are a few that spring immediately to mind:

1. The dog licence was abolished because eventually nobody took any notice of it.
2. The sort of people you are complaining about are exactly the sort who wouldn't buy a dog licence if it were to be re-introduced

[Who me ?]

highway said:

I am sick of seeing unpleasant people walking pit bull type dogs around. I work in an grim part of London and it's rife. Young blokes in the main, oversized chains linked to a harness holding said pit bull type dog.

I hear people saying;"ah but Staffies are lovely", maybe they are. Anyway, when I was a kid I'm sure my parents had to pay for a dog licence. I'm sure it wasn't that much, even back then. I haven't researched it o line, but obviously it was done away with at some point.

If a fee for a licence was reintroduced I'm sure the admin would likely negate any revenue raised. I'm not suggesting it would be an earner for Blightys battered economy. Would it discourage the irresponsible from dog ownership? Give the Police/council the power to ask dog owners to 'produce' their licences, much like you used to have to produce your driving docs, or face penalty if you haven't bought the licence (or confiscation of your dog) surely if you can afford to feed and look after a dog you can afford a licence?

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Quite honestly , would these folks pay a fee . I'd suggest that if I decided to get a pair of Cairns, with potentially more kiling power , these blokes with Staffs might decide that one mutilated Staff is not worth the effort . I'm not advocating getting a pair of Cairns(little kiling machines ) ,but faced with a pair of these our bold Staff owners might decide to head of home.

[Efbe]

no

[Frixturbo]

A license of some kind should be required for the OWNER of any dog, not only the 'pitbull type'!!!!

[Turn7]

I agree something needs to be done, but my idea is to license the sellers/breeders and insist on ownership type background checks before allowing puppy sales.

[highway]

rs1952 said:

You are barking up the wrong tree for a number of reasons. Here are a few that spring immediately to mind:

1. The dog licence was abolished because eventually nobody took any notice of it.
2. The sort of people you are complaining about are exactly the sort who wouldn't buy a dog licence if it were to be re-introduced

But surely it's a deterrent. Like a speed limit? Loads of people ignore the 70 limit on an mway. But if you get caught at 85 plus you 'can' get fined

[Caractacus]

Food for thought tho, no?

Failure to present said licence, or owning a dog without a licence = prison?

Seriously? Probably wouldn't get the green light by those in power, but it's a fair enough idea really.

[eskidavies]

highway said:

I am sick of seeing unpleasant people walking pit bull type dogs around. I work in an grim part of London and it's rife. Young blokes in the main, oversized chains linked to a harness holding said pit bull type dog.

I hear people saying;"ah but Staffies are lovely", maybe they are. Anyway, when I was a kid I'm sure my parents had to pay for a dog licence. I'm sure it wasn't that much, even back then. I haven't researched it o line, but obviously it was done away with at some point.

If a fee for a licence was reintroduced I'm sure the admin would likely negate any revenue raised. I'm not suggesting it would be an earner for Blightys battered economy. Would it discourage the irresponsible from dog ownership? Give the Police/council the power to ask dog owners to 'produce' their licences, much like you used to have to produce your driving docs, or face penalty if you haven't bought the licence (or confiscation of your dog) surely if you can afford to feed and look after a dog you can afford a licence?

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

yes and no

no bring back licences

yes dont single out staffys and bull breeds most dogs with a prick of an owner will be nasty,dogs are not bad society is.

Edited by eskidavies on Sunday 19th February 22:00

[jd1994]

Because people who use dogs to intimidate people and mistreat their animals are going to be bothered about not having a license for their dogs? More likely it would be an expensive tax for the law abiding dog owners out there

[R300will]

Here's an idea. Ban bloody puppy farms the pricks get the dogs from anyway, as they are shocking, and make it so that you can only get a dog from a licenced breeder who has procedures to follow before they allow anyone to own a dog. Bit of a faff to sort out originally but i bet it would cut down the staffies that end up impounded and put to sleep because their owners got the dogs taken from them for the same reasons mentioned in the OP.

Extreme?

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

I see your idea in principle, but like a lot of laws concieved to stop anti social behaviour, especially with regard to motoring, normally just end up being yet another costly / impractical burden to law-abiding people whilst the type of scrotes you describe just go right on ignoring he laws anyway!

[Caractacus]

R300will said:

Here's an idea. Ban bloody puppy farms the pricks get the dogs from anyway, as they are shocking, and make it so that you can only get a dog from a licenced breeder who has procedures to follow before they allow anyone to own a dog. Bit of a faff to sort out originally but i bet it would cut down the staffies that end up impounded and put to sleep because their owners got the dogs taken from them for the same reasons mentioned in the OP.

Extreme?

Not at all.

I live in Carmarthenshire, where there are more puppy farms than the rest of the UK combined (iirc). It's just awful.

[rs1952]

highway said:

rs1952 said:

You are barking up the wrong tree for a number of reasons. Here are a few that spring immediately to mind:

1. The dog licence was abolished because eventually nobody took any notice of it.
2. The sort of people you are complaining about are exactly the sort who wouldn't buy a dog licence if it were to be re-introduced

But surely it's a deterrent. Like a speed limit? Loads of people ignore the 70 limit on an mway. But if you get caught at 85 plus you 'can' get fined

I was going to do the maths and calculate what percentage of a dog over and above not having a dog would land you with a fine, but I thought better of it

But to take your analogy head on, do speed limits stop arsewipes being idiots? No - they tend to criminalise otherwise law abiding citizens. Likewise "failure to have a dog licence" would be something that (generally) only responsible dog owners would be nicked for.

[Wigeon Incognito]

Caractacus said:

R300will said:

Here's an idea. Ban bloody puppy farms the pricks get the dogs from anyway, as they are shocking, and make it so that you can only get a dog from a licenced breeder who has procedures to follow before they allow anyone to own a dog. Bit of a faff to sort out originally but i bet it would cut down the staffies that end up impounded and put to sleep because their owners got the dogs taken from them for the same reasons mentioned in the OP.

Extreme?

Not at all.

I live in Carmarthenshire, where there are more puppy farms than the rest of the UK combined (iirc). It's just awful.

Agreed. I've been to a few puppy farms and not seen anything approaching 'good' yet.

Puppy farms aren't where the 'staffie types' come from though - that's just another aspect of irresponsible ownership and the staggering stupidity of some owners. Real examples include "well I thought I'd let her have babies coz I can get £250 a pup you know". Well no, you won't get that. You're trying to flog pups with no papers or verifiable lineage to any idiot that wants one in a tower block. You'll actually end up desperately giving them away to another wave of irresponsible owners who just like you won't think that maybe we don't need so many litters of pups at the moment.

Or another favourite after me telling a couple their bh is pregnant "she can't be coz she lives with her brother and doesn't go out". Yes, because dogs understand the genetic dangers and social taboo of inbreeding...

[Mubby]

jd1994 said:

Because people who use dogs to intimidate people and mistreat their animals are going to be bothered about not having a license for their dogs? More likely it would be an expensive tax for the law abiding dog owners out there

agree's with this...

[Frixturbo]

eskidavies said:

yes dont single out staffys and bull breeds most dogs with a prick of an owner will be nasty,dogs are not bad society is.

Edited by eskidavies on Sunday 19th February 22:00

punish the deed, not the breed!!

[Superficial]

No point, the type of people you would want to target wouldn't bother with one anyway. The only losers would be the responsible owners, and unless there were lots of new forces brought in to enforce it I can't see anyone being asked to produce a licence either. I can hand on heart say I've never seen a dog warden or police officer in a park or field where I'm walking the dogs.

[Lippitt]

As everybody else has said, those who you are trying to target simply wouldn't comply. I think what we need is harsher punishments on those who use their dog as a weapon/for intimidation, or the scum who organise, attend, and participate in dog fights, to the point where it is not worth these people owning a dog. But then maybe they would buy knives and guns instead, I don't know.

I just feel sorry for the dogs.