§ Mr. Colin Shepherdasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many dog licences were taken out in the year April 1980 to April 1981; and what is his estimate of the percentage of dogs in England now properly covered by licence.
§ Mr. WigginThe latest available statistics relate to the financial year 1979–80, when licences issued in England covered a total of 2,538,994 dogs. There are no current estimates of the proportion of dogs properly covered by licence. However, the report of the interdepartmental working party on dogs, published in 1976, estimated that in the United Kingdom only one dog in two was licensed.