§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) whether, in considering proposals for increasing the present dog licence fee, he will also consider the introduction of a 7s. 6d. cat licence; and what is his estimate of the revenue return on such a cat licence scheme;
(2) whether he is aware that there are about five million dogs owned in Great Britain of which less than three million have licences; and whether, before increasing the present licence, he will take steps to ensure that the owners of the two million unlicensed dogs pay their dog licence fee, and to increase the penalty of £10 for those without such a licence.
§ Mr. Anthony StodartThe Government are not at present proposing to increase the dog licence fee. I am aware that many people in this country own unlicensed dogs, but enforcement is a problem for the local authorities. The penalty for keeping a dog without a licence was raised from £5 to £10 only four years ago. We do not intend to start licensing cats. It would not reduce the number of stray ones, and it would be expensive to administer as well as difficult to enforce because of the propensity of this animal to decide for itself where it will live and to whom it belongs.