Dog licence

maplebanks

Why do the government insist we have a dog licence,but not for cats,horses,pet foxes,snakes etc.??

doctor evil

Equines must have a passport and ones that are a certain age must be microchipped.

boomerang

maplebanks wrote: »

Why do the government insist we have a dog licence,but not for cats,horses,pet foxes,snakes etc.??

To fund the dog wardens and dog pounds. No such public facilities exist for other animals, except horses.

maplebanks

doctor evil wrote: »

Equines must have a passport and ones that are a certain age must be microchipped.

yes correct,but the money for horse passports go to the irish horse board, in turn they keep records of breeding ,id markings etc,

Cherry Blossom

maplebanks wrote: »

yes correct,but the money for horse passports go to the irish horse board, in turn they keep records of breeding ,id markings etc,

You pay a yearly licence fee to the local council in areas where the control of horses act has been implemented into local by-laws.

maplebanks

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

You pay a yearly licence fee to the local council in areas where the control of horses act has been implemented into local by-laws.

i keep horses ,but never heard of this by law,

Cherry Blossom

It depends what county you live in, will only apply to me from Feb onwards so I'm doing my homework on it at the minute

The General.

maplebanks wrote: »

Why do the government insist we have a dog licence,but not for cats,horses,pet foxes,snakes etc.??

Its more for them. Thats why.

Chinasea

Whilst I don't object to the idea of the licences I have a major problem with the fact in the forty plus years I have been out walking my dogs I have never EVER been asked to produce my licence nor seen a dog warden. A few dodgy faded auld signs slung about on lamp posts telling us that we will pay a fine if we don’t poopascoop but no enforcement EVER and shi** everywhere.

Get out from behind your desks in the county council offices and start patrolling the parks - way too many young lads with the fighter dogs on the loose to say the least.

jack presley

Is there even a record of the licence kept? I bought mine in some village down the country while i was working away for a few days but it's hand written and although it's on one of those books that the writing transfers through onto a copy they keep, do they actually enter the purchase onto a computer or anything?

The reason i ask is that the local dog warden called one night (he lives down the road and thought incorrectly that our dogs were barking all night) and sad that there was no record of us buying licences from the local post office. I had great pleasure showing them to him

maplebanks

jack presley wrote: »

Is there even a record of the licence kept? I bought mine in some village down the country while i was working away for a few days but it's hand written and although it's on one of those books that the writing transfers through onto a copy they keep, do they actually enter the purchase onto a computer or anything?

The reason i ask is that the local dog warden called one night (he lives down the road and thought incorrectly that our dogs were barking all night) and sad that there was no record of us buying licences from the local post office. I had great pleasure showing them to him

i dont think there is, a dog warden called to me asking to see my dog licence,i had bought one a few weeks earlier but couldent find it on the day , told her to check the records but she said she couldent as there was no contact between her and city hall.:rolleyes:

Cherry Blossom

jack presley wrote: »

I bought mine in some village down the country while i was working away for a few days

Afaik a dog licence is only valid for city or county it is purchased in as its the area where the dog is kept, I'm surprised the warden accepted a licence issued in a different district

jack presley

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Afaik a dog licence is only valid for city or county it is purchased in as its the area where the dog is kept, I'm surprised the warden accepted a licence issued in a different district

If that is the case, it is more surprising that the staff on the post office sold it to me then. In that instance it was Cork I bought it in and the address on it was Louth. Although living in Louth I work in Dublin city centre and every other year have bought them there without any problem

lorebringer

Dog licences are issued by the county council, therefore you need to have one from the council area in which you live. I am issued with a reminder letter every year to renew my dog licences so there must be a record kept. In saying that, I have never had to produce a dog licence for anyone but still have them all just in case.

I have yet to find out how many dogs a person must have before they need to buy the "multiple dogs" licence (even with my lot I don't fit into this category, but was always curious!). The price is quite a bit compared to a single licence (€12.70 per dog or €253.95 for a multiple) so I'm assuming it's a very high number! Anybody know?

seamus

jack presley wrote: »

Is there even a record of the licence kept? I bought mine in some village down the country while i was working away for a few days but it's hand written and although it's on one of those books that the writing transfers through onto a copy they keep, do they actually enter the purchase onto a computer or anything?

It's an official document, so I'm sure a record exists *somewhere*, but since it's managed at a county level, I'd say implementation differs from council to council. SDCC sent me an email and an online renewal notice this year, which allowed me to add/change/renew my dog licence online.

As I said in another thread, dog licences seem to be optional outside of the urban areas, or perhaps in very rural areas. My parents moved to a rural Wicklow village ten years ago - population in a 3km radius of no more than 300/400. Loads of farmers and big sites, so there are loads of dogs. In fact, having two dogs seems to be a prerequisite. 2 years after they moved down, they realised they'd never gotten a new dog licence for our dog.
When my Dad went into the post office, the postmistress had never heard of a dog licence, and therefore had never sold one. And she's been postmistress for a long time.
It was only then once he got a licence, that he started getting demands from Wicklow Co. Co. to renew every year. Go figure :rolleyes:

lorebringer wrote: »

I have yet to find out how many dogs a person must have before they need to buy the "multiple dogs" licence (even with my lot I don't fit into this category, but was always curious!). The price is quite a bit compared to a single licence (€12.70 per dog or €253.95 for a multiple) so I'm assuming it's a very high number! Anybody know?

It's actually a "general" dog licence and is a bit of a sham. It means if you have twenty dogs or more, or if you have a lot of dogs passing through your hands, you can just buy this licence and you don't have tell anyone what dog(s) you may or may not have.

You don't have to have a specific number of dogs to buy one - you can buy one even if you have no dogs.

toadfly

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Afaik a dog licence is only valid for city or county it is purchased in as its the area where the dog is kept, I'm surprised the warden accepted a licence issued in a different district

Well I live in Galway but bought one licence in Dublin from the pound and the other in Mayo. So if I was asked for it in Galway am I not covered?

ppink

when we got our rescue dog he came with his licence from another county.

egan2020

The dog warden recently called to my house (in a small estate in a rural area) and knocked on everyone's door asking to see licences. I'm not sure whether this was a routine check. I don't imagine there were any complaints as no dogs are left to roam unattended and there is never excessive barking. As for records being kept, the County Council obviously have records as they send a reminder around the renewal time each year.

Galway K9

I dont get a dog license as by law they cant take the dog of you unless the go out fo their way, get a warrant for the dog seizure (they need a good excuse for judge to give this e.g. attack) so i think a warden couldnt be arsed going through all that so you have a license. ha. Unless dog is outside your premises then he can just take him without license and unaccompanied.Control of Dogs act 1987

ISDW

Galway K9 wrote: »

I dont get a dog license as by law they cant take the dog of you unless the go out fo their way, get a warrant for the dog seizure (they need a good excuse for judge to give this e.g. attack) so i think a warden couldnt be arsed going through all that so you have a license. ha. Unless dog is outside your premises then he can just take him without license and unaccompanied.Control of Dogs act 1987

So your dog never leaves your property? You never take it for a walk?

Galway K9

ISDW wrote: »

So your dog never leaves your property? You never take it for a walk?

Of course i do, i take my fella everywhere but be illegal for Warden to confiscate a dog if im there without a warrant as he would need to use a non authorised form of plysical restraint. Dog never leaves property without me. Thanks for trying to start fights tho, says alot about your nature.

Chris_Heilong

So does that mean the people like ISDW must buy multiple licences and when the dogs leave the resuce will ISDW still get reminders every year?

Galway K9

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

So does that mean the people like ISDW must buy multiple licences and when the dogs leave the resuce will ISDW still get reminders every year?

Well id say she has a General dog license for that many dogs, but im unsure as to the regulations for Authorised rescues.

ppink

never thought of that actually! not sure but i just know ours came with his licence (it was issued by another co.co but was in my name)

i rarely leave our property now with our lot but we are in the system now so get 4 separate reminders every year!

Galway K9

ppink wrote: »

never thought of that actually! not sure but i just know ours came with his licence (it was issued by another co.co but was in my name)

i rarely leave our property now with our lot but we are in the system now so get 4 separate reminders every year!

I dunno, might ask someone from a SPCA or something.

seamus

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

So does that mean the people like ISDW must buy multiple licences and when the dogs leave the resuce will ISDW still get reminders every year?

Unlikely as he/she doesn't have to tell the council what dogs are on the premises or have left, etc. ISDW would have a general dog licence which covers hmi/her for all dogs coming into her care through the year.

The general dog licence allows you to keep any number of dogs without telling the council how many. A rescue will likely get a single reminder each year to renew their general licence.

Strictly speaking, the rescue is not supposed to rehome a dog unless the person receiving the animal has already gotten a dog licence for that dog. This is probably why/how ppink's dog came with a licence, but I know that in the vast majority of cases this requirement is ignored.

I dont get a dog license as by law they cant take the dog of you unless the go out fo their way, get a warrant for the dog seizure (they need a good excuse for judge to give this e.g. attack) so i think a warden couldnt be arsed going through all that so you have a license. ha. Unless dog is outside your premises then he can just take him without license and unaccompanied.Control of Dogs act 1987

The Control of Dogs Act 1986 allow for a warden to seize a dog where he/she suspects that an offence has been committed under that Act, including the keeping of a dog without a licence, in order to ascertain whether or not an offence has been committed. The warden does not need a warrant to seize your dog, unless they would have to enter someone's house to do so. They are permitted onto your land for this purpose, just not into the house.

In addition, obstructing the dog warden and/or refusing to give your name and address to the dog warden is also an offence for which you can be convicted & fined.

Seriously, a dog licence is €12.70. That's probably the cheapest insurance policy you can buy against the rare case that a dog warden comes knocking.

Galway K9

True, well aware that its an offence to obstruct a warden. But at end of the day and best point, its 12.70.

antomagoo

Chinasea wrote: »

Whilst I don't object to the idea of the licences I have a major problem with the fact in the forty plus years I have been out walking my dogs I have never EVER been asked to produce my licence nor seen a dog warden. A few dodgy faded auld signs slung about on lamp posts telling us that we will pay a fine if we don’t poopascoop but no enforcement EVER and shi** everywhere.

Get out from behind your desks in the county council offices and start patrolling the parks - way too many young lads with the fighter dogs on the loose to say the least.

Really? What constitutes a fighter dog?

I find its the people with your every day ,terriers, labs, retreivers, collies & all types of crosses that are out sh*tting everywhere, and thats dogs that are walked on a leash, not to mention dogs that are kicked out the door by their owners to wander around and sh*t everywhere.

kildareash

jack presley wrote: »

Is there even a record of the licence kept? I bought mine in some village down the country while i was working away for a few days but it's hand written and although it's on one of those books that the writing transfers through onto a copy they keep, do they actually enter the purchase onto a computer or anything?

The reason i ask is that the local dog warden called one night (he lives down the road and thought incorrectly that our dogs were barking all night) and sad that there was no record of us buying licences from the local post office. I had great pleasure showing them to him

We did buy ours in our local post office, but we were wondering what the point is.
We have two dogs from the same litter...so both black and white, both same breed and same owner.
We have two hand-written certificates with the exact same information on both. Just didn't seem enough to be honest.
Maybe they should look at putting the chip numbers on them or something.

jack presley

If you have to buy it from a post office in your county, shouldn't someone tell the staff at An Post and get them to refuse anyone from outside that county looking for a licence?

sadhbhsdad

On 1/2/11 I went out and got a dog licence. I usually renew in October and thought I had gone 4 months without a licence. Over the weekend I found that I had renewed in October so now I have 2 licences for the same dog. Called An Post looking for a refund and they say they are only an agent and told me to call my County Council.
Called co-co today looking for the refund from them and it turns out that neither licence is regestered with them so my dog has no licence.
Coco said get back in touch with An Post and tell them that they must sort it out because the co-co has not received payment for these licences from An Post.
What a joke !

Also the coco official I spoke to said that it does not matter where the licence is bought as long as the name and address on the licence is where the dog is kept.

seamus

sadhbhsdad wrote: »

Coco said get back in touch with An Post and tell them that they must sort it out because the co-co has not received payment for these licences from An Post.

Typical jobsworth nonsense. It's not your problem if the CoCo haven't received payment from An Post. An Post issue the licences under licence (heh) from the CoCo and once you have it in your hand, you are legally licenced.

Annoying that you'd have to chase it up yourself to get a refund, but I know I'd just forget about it for the sake of €13.

Discodog

The fine is only €30. Enforcement varies hugely from area to area.

In 2009:

213,000 licenses issued

2473 on the spot fines issued
1255 fines paid
294 prosecutions
82 convictions

Galway K9

sadhbhsdad wrote: »

On 1/2/11 I went out and got a dog licence. I usually renew in October and thought I had gone 4 months without a licence. Over the weekend I found that I had renewed in October so now I have 2 licences for the same dog. Called An Post looking for a refund and they say they are only an agent and told me to call my County Council.
Called co-co today looking for the refund from them and it turns out that neither licence is regestered with them so my dog has no licence.
Coco said get back in touch with An Post and tell them that they must sort it out because the co-co has not received payment for these licences from An Post.
What a joke !

Also the coco official I spoke to said that it does not matter where the licence is bought as long as the name and address on the licence is where the dog is kept.

No offence meant but the biggest joke is paying for the license in the first place.:D

boxerly

For the sake of 12.70 a year I dont have a prob paying it,its peace of mind if something where ever to happen?Also if your dog were to end up in a pound it would be easier to have it.My bro in law had a dog who ended up in the pound a big row with them etc etc,he had to back date the licience so for the sake of the 12.70? also if the money funds the pounds etc for food for the dogs etc I certainly dont have a prob paying it.I got a reminder in last year for a dog I had as a child he is dead 15 years now?I rang them and said my dog died? My mam actually rang them when Max died and told them hehehe.I also got a reminder before for a black and white ckc??Ive never had one hahahaha.Either a serious mistake or someone taking the p*ss:)

billbond4

Wish they would throw up a few dogs parks with the money, then I wouldnt have as much of a problem paying for them.
It would cost feck all, as its just a fenced off area, covered with sand and a few benches and dustbins, councils have plenty of land

sadhbhsdad

Galway K9 wrote: »

No offence meant but the biggest joke is paying for the license in the first place.:D

Yeah,
Think your right about that.

sadhbhsdad

seamus wrote: »

Typical jobsworth nonsense. It's not your problem if the CoCo haven't received payment from An Post. An Post issue the licences under licence (heh) from the CoCo and once you have it in your hand, you are legally licenced.

Annoying that you'd have to chase it up yourself to get a refund, but I know I'd just forget about it for the sake of €13.

Seamus,
Thats only €13 of my money, but I'm sure there are others in the same boat every year. All this adds up. Are the government not taking enough of our money as it isn ??????????

seamus

sadhbhsdad wrote: »

Are the government not taking enough of our money as it is

That's a topic for a different forum

I understand the principle of the thing and for some people €13 might represent two days worth of lunches and dinners that they can't afford to lose, but it's not something I personally would see fit to go on a crusade for.

I can honestly see you being constantly bumped from Billy to Jack on this issue with neither organisation claiming responsibility. By the time you're done €13 will feel like scant reward for the amount of effort you've put in - but if you feel strongly enough about it you will probably feel that it's worth it for the moral victory.

planetX

I don't buy it cos I don't want to get into the system. A fuddy-duddy old neighbour of mine forgot to renew hers once, and the dog warden visited her house. She was so horrified that all her neighbours would see his van and think her dogs had misbehaved. That's what you get for being responsible, he called to her house but ignored all the dogs out on the street alone.
Don't want any money of mine going to the pound anway, would rather donate it to a rescue.

Discodog

The license fee doesn't all go to fund the Pounds & Wardens. For example my LA reduced it's wardens from three to one even though the license income didn't reduce.

I would willingly pay €100 per year per dog if all of the fee went towards dog welfare & as a consequence, there were no strays.

The Dog Breeding Bill has an amendment to increase the license fees. The Greens refused to make rescues exempt.

Galway K9

Discodog wrote: »

The license fee doesn't all go to fund the Pounds & Wardens. For example my LA reduced it's wardens from three to one even though the license income didn't reduce.

I would willingly pay €100 per year per dog if all of the fee went towards dog welfare & as a consequence, there were no strays.

The Dog Breeding Bill has an amendment to increase the license fees. The Greens refused to make rescues exempt.

Excellent point!

adser53

Bring in cat licences & tags I say !

Roaming cats are as bad as roaming dogs so fair is fair

Graces7

Discodog wrote: »

The license fee doesn't all go to fund the Pounds & Wardens. For example my LA reduced it's wardens from three to one even though the license income didn't reduce.

I would willingly pay €100 per year per dog if all of the fee went towards dog welfare & as a consequence, there were no strays.

The Dog Breeding Bill has an amendment to increase the license fees. The Greens refused to make rescues exempt.

Many simply could not afford that so it would have a knock on effect on rescues.

We live in a very rural area and our dogs never leave the property and are confined safely here; we run them in the fields with our landlord's permission. We have been told that in these circumstances we need no licence.

ISDW

Graces7 wrote: »

Many simply could not afford that so it would have a knock on effect on rescues.

We live in a very rural area and our dogs never leave the property and are confined safely here; we run them in the fields with our landlord's permission. We have been told that in these circumstances we need no licence.

I don't know who it was that told you that, but they are wrong. The licence does not specify anything like that at all. So if your dogs were sick, you woudn't take them to the vet? Because if you did, they would be leaving your property. You moved from one end of the country to the other last year didn't you? How did you manage to transport the dogs?

Anyway, thats a moot point, if you own a dog, you have to have a licence, no matter where it does or doesn't go.

ppink

to be honest it drives me bananas when I hear some people saying they dont get a licence. like those dodging the tv licence i think there should be heavy consequences.

toadfly

For the sake of €12.70 each dog I get the licence just for peace of mind. Have to buy Ozzies today actually, its a year since we got him

Discodog

ppink wrote: »

to be honest it drives me bananas when I hear some people saying they dont get a licence. like those dodging the tv licence i think there should be heavy consequences.

A lot of people object that, they are targeted as responsible owners, to pay for the irresponsibility of others. The Dog license is just another local tax that has nothing really to do with dogs.

In my ideal world the Licensing & Pounds would be run by someone who could be trusted like the Dogs Trust. People just do not respect the Council.

Graces7

ISDW wrote: »

I don't know who it was that told you that, but they are wrong. The licence does not specify anything like that at all. So if your dogs were sick, you woudn't take them to the vet? Because if you did, they would be leaving your property. You moved from one end of the country to the other last year didn't you? How did you manage to transport the dogs?

Anyway, thats a moot point, if you own a dog, you have to have a licence, no matter where it does or doesn't go.

The aggressive tone of your mail is uncalled for. As was your last response to one of my mails. I feel no obligation to respond to this tone.

Our legal adviser says differently and I trust him - period.

ISDW

Graces7 wrote: »

The aggressive tone of your mail is uncalled for. As was your last response to one of my mails. I feel no obligation to respond to this tone.

Our legal adviser says differently and I trust him - period.

Oh you do keep me entertained. You're very good at never answering questions that may possibly show you in your true colours aren't you.

Aggressive? Pot, kettle, black? No, you never did answer how you cut and pasted an answer from somebody else and passed it off as your own did you:rolleyes:

Its a legal adviser now, you paid someone to tell you that you don't need a licence, when buying the licence would cost you €12.70? Its those kind of economics that have got this country in the state its in.:D

andreac

Graces7 wrote: »

The aggressive tone of your mail is uncalled for. As was your last response to one of my mails. I feel no obligation to respond to this tone.

Our legal adviser says differently and I trust him - period.

How was her reponse aggressive? She was merely stating facts.

The law states you have to have a licence for your dog, end of. Theres no interpretating the law the way you want to because you say your dogs are not out in public.
The law does not differentiate between dogs that are on public/private property. Its one law that affects all dog owners, same with a tv licence, if you own a tv you have to have a licence.

Your legal advisor is advising you break the law, so i would advise you look elsewhere for your legal enquiries if thats the case.