Ireland GET LEGAL WITH YOUR DOG AT THE BALLYWALTER FAIR

[AlbertJ 569]

Microchipping your dog became a legal requirement today in Northern Ireland.

 

In the consultation process on dog control I had put it to the representative organisations that they should support complusory mucro chipping as a trade off against abolishing the Dog License Fee completely.

 

Unfortunately they thought they knew better and fought compulsory microchipping AND LOST. So we now have compulsory micropchipping AND this

has been accompanied by a severe hike in license fees. So far this has cost me three microchip fees plus an extra £20 in dog license with a block license moving up from £12.50 to £32. This cannot be viewed as a success for our representative organisations so we hope they will get behind us in a campaign to help reverse the license fee hike.

 

We are contemplating starting a campaign in the Irish Countrysports and Country Life magazine to get the dog license abolished. With Northern ireland having the largest number of strays in the Uk the Dog Licensing system simply has not worked. And to have it operating in tandem with micro chipping just puts additional costs of dog control on the the shoulders of responsible dog owners. Can you indicate whether you wupport such a campaign?

 

However as a service to our customers at the Ballywalter Game Fair on the 5th & 6th May we have arranged for the Dog's Trust to be present to micro chip dogs FREE of CHARGE. AND together with our special discounted admission vouchers for Shanes and Birr that you get when you purchase your Ballywalter Ticket - this really does offer the dog owner very good value.

 

Obviously there is a limit to how many dogs the Trust can do each day so if you want to avail of this service get there early!

[neil cooney 10,415]

Good job Albert.

New laws aside, micro-chipping has in the past helped people get their stolen dogs back, which can only be good.

[AlbertJ 569]

Good job Albert.

New laws aside, micro-chipping has in the past helped people get their stolen dogs back, which can only be good.

 

Neil,

 

That's why I thought it was the better form of control and of course even if you have to pay for it is a 'one off' fee. The Dog License is simply a method of Councils trying to recoup the cost of their dog wardens in effect it is a tax on dog ownership.

[littlefish 549]

Microchipping for free has been ongoing in local vet practices for some time now in conjunction with the Dogs Trust. Neutering too.

[AlbertJ 569]

Microchipping for free has been ongoing in local vet practices for some time now in conjunction with the Dogs Trust. Neutering too.

 

Yes - I know that has been the case supported by heavy advertising in the run up to the legal deadline. But it is only at certain times and involves a trip to a certain vets or certain pet food stores. I am sure that there are many people like me for whom it was more convenient to simply take the dog to the local vet and pay for it.

 

What we are offering at Ballywalter is not something that is unique but something that is convenient if you have your unchipped dog there. We are indebted to the Dog Trust for facilitating this.

 

Albertj

[kevin em 342]

great idea albert if folks are bringing their dogs anyway it will be handy to get their dogs chipped while there i bet you will get loads of people taking advantage of this it means that they dont have to bother goin to the vets

[littlefish 549]

Microchipping for free has been ongoing in local vet practices for some time now in conjunction with the Dogs Trust. Neutering too.

 

Yes - I know that has been the case supported by heavy advertising in the run up to the legal deadline. But it is only at certain times and involves a trip to a certain vets or certain pet food stores. I am sure that there are many people like me for whom it was more convenient to simply take the dog to the local vet and pay for it.

 

What we are offering at Ballywalter is not something that is unique but something that is convenient if you have your unchipped dog there. We are indebted to the Dog Trust for facilitating this.

 

Albertj

 

Yes it is an excellent opportunity for people who are at the fair on the day but for anyone who cannot go to the fair - get in touch with your local vet or dog warden to see what is available.

[bowersey 59]

Thanks for posting this we will have the new pup done at Ballywalter The lience is a rip of money for them to persecute the dog owners I had a terrier follow me home it had a tag with a lience number but no name and address I phoned the council and ask if i called the number out would they give me the name of the owner or let them have my phone number They said they would have a van lift the dog as there was a fine to be paid for letting the dog stray I refused my name and address the wife went to the local shop to put an ad in the window it turned out the daugher of the lady that worked in the shop had lost the dog was desperately looking the wee dog When we returned the the dog I recallrd the council and claimed the dog was now sold via one of the the free ad fourms and what a benifit paying a lience was it is a compete rip off with the closer of the USPCA shelter. What are we getting for our money ? .

Edited April 9, 2012 by bowersey

[AlbertJ 569]

How many of you would support a campaign to try to get the Dog License abolished?

[bowersey 59]

I would vote to keep my £32. Hate to think what the block lience is going to cost in years to come if nothing is said .

[Skinny 29]

I had my three dogs micro chipped today by the dogs trust at ASDA in Larne, was handy enough. I said to the fella some people are thinking about starting a campaign to abolish the dog licence, he reckoned that could be some task and would have to go to parliament, I said Albert J could be the man to lead the campaign!

[AlbertJ 569]

One thing would be in our favour is that the dog license in the Uk was abolished in 1988 and they have a smaller unwanted dog problem than we have in NI! So as a form of control there is nothing in favour of it.

 

From my discussions with politicians the only thing they could come up with in favour of it was that it finances the dog wardens - whose main job is to deal with abandoned or lost dogs! Now if everyone has their dogs microchipped this should reduce the workload greatly of the dog wardens and the cost to councils AND should the responsible dog owner really be paying for irresponsible dog owners? Is it our responsibility to pay for dog control?

[Skinny 29]

well any lobbying that I can help with, I would like to help, the thought that my licence fee pays for the local dog warden is not money well spent in my opinion, what about a structured protest of civil disobedience, I would be up for that.

[AlbertJ 569]

Skinny,

 

Thanks for your support but I am taking a number of soundings before we embark on setting up a 'Dog License camp' outside each of the Councils!

 

It concerns me slightly that there are a number of petitions going in England to bring back the dog license with, in my view, the misguided idea that this will bring about more responsible dog ownership. The NI experience would appear to prove this wrong. But it does show that there would not be universal support amongst dog owners for abolishing the dog license.

 

I have to say what irritated me most over this matter is that this is just one more case where the representative organisations in 'defending' our sports actually led to us having additional controls and cost placed on us. The next thing coming up is an increase in our FAC.

 

Our organisations by and large expend a great deal of time and effort on DEFENDING our rights as sportsmen and women but as anyone knows defending positions tends to at best maintain and at worst lose ground. You don't gain ground by defending a position. For once I would like to see our organisations try to extend our rights or reduce our costs . Whether dog licensing is the right cause to choose - I am not sure. But it would be nice just for once to win rather than to as usual minimise the scale of the defeat.

 

Albertj

[BOLIO1 1,078]

I think a lot of the people who sign petitions calling FOR the introduction of a dog license in the rest of the U.K. will not be dog lovers or dog owners, but rather those who have a morbid fear of dogs. These types of people often seem to receive a disproportionately loud hearing in the media if recent discussions on our local radio stations are mirrored across the country. A course in remedial therapy for their ailment would perhaps be a more sensible approach, but then common sense and bureaucratic regulations seem to mix about as well as oil and water.