Animal welfare group the RSPCA has called for dog licences to be reintroduced, saying an annual licence fee of as little as £21.50 could help reduce the number of strays and help tackle irresponsible dog breeding.
The recommendation, made in a new report, comes a few days after 10-year-old Rhianna Kidd fractured her jaw and required plastic surgery after she was mauled by two rottweilers while riding her bicycle in Dundee.
The RSPCA estimates a licensing scheme could deliver resources worth more than £107.4 million to improve dog welfare.
With an estimated 10 million dogs in Britain, this works out at £21.50 per dog if 50 percent of dog owners buy a licence. A compliance rate of 75 percent would work out even less at £14.30 per dog, the society said.
The report "Improving dog ownership: The economic case for dog licensing" calls on the government to establish a dog health and welfare strategy underpinned and funded by a dog licence scheme.
The licence fee could be set at £20 to £30 a year, with discounts for selected dogs, such as assistance dogs and neutered dogs, and for people such as pensioners, according to the study, written by RSPCA director of communications David Bowles and based on research by Reading University.
Microchips would be used to identify the dogs, with details entered on a national database, improving dog ownership and reducing numbers of unwanted dogs, the study says.
Bowles said: "A dog licence would raise money which could be targeted into improving enforcement of laws at a local level, improve the welfare of dogs, and reverse the use of certain breeds of dogs as a status symbol or weapon."
Dog licences would raise money for dog welfare, increase the numbers of responsible dog owners and start to reverse the surplus of dogs on the market, he said.
Twenty-three countries in Europe currently have a dog licence or registration scheme and two thirds of British dog owners are in favour of a licence scheme, the RSPCA said.
A woman spoke today of the horror moment she saw her 10-year-old granddaughter being mauled by two rottweilers.
Rhianna Kidd was attacked by the dogs while riding her bicycle in Dundee on Sunday.
The primary school pupil was being treated for a fractured jaw today and has had to have plastic surgery.
Tayside Police have charged a 33-year-old woman under the Dangerous Dogs Act in connection with the attack.
Copyright 2010 AFP European Edition
