§ 19. Mr. Fisherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will introduce legislation to increase the price of dog licences; and whether he will take action to make it illegal for anyone to buy a dog without first taking out a licence.
§ Mr. MacDermotThe Local Government Bills provide for varying the dog licence fee by an Order made by the Minister of Agriculture or the Secretary of State for Scotland. It is already illegal to keep a dog aged six months or over without having a valid licence.
§ Mr. FisherI know that, but would the hon. and learned Gentleman bear in mind that nowadays many people tend to buy dogs perhaps without quite realising what they are taking on and that this subsequently can become rather hard on the dog? Would he agree that if they had to buy a higher priced licence before buying a dog, dog owners might be encouraged to have a greater sense of responsibility towards their pets?
§ Mr. MacDermotI do not think that a solution lies in that suggestion, because breeders and the owners of pet shops usually sell puppies well below the six months' age limit and it would be somewhat an innovation to require the sellers 1202 of dogs to be responsible for enforcing Revenue requirements.