§ Sir J. Langford-Holtasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is satisfied that identity discs are worn by enough dogs to enable local authorities to trace owners of dogs in order to enforce the law; what estimate lie has made of the percentage of dogs which wear the identification required by law; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter MillsThere are no national estimates of this kind. However my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the 35W Environment will shortly be consulting the local authority associations about control of stray dogs, and he will of course have regard to any views they may express about the effectiveness of the identity disc provision. In the meantime my hon. Friend may agree that we are frequently described as a nation of dog lovers; and that responsible owners, having the interest of their dogs at heart, will make it their business to equip them with identity discs not only to comply with the law but to avoid, for example, the suffering, damage and anxiety that can be caused when dogs stray from their home premises.