The Control of Dogs Order 1992 requires the name and address of an owner to be displayed on a dog's collar or tag or risk a £5000 fine. This is outdated, unsafe and inefficient for reasons described below. Mobile phones are widely used now and telephone numbers should replace addresses and names.
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- Dog theft is soaring and an address seen on an ID tag could lead to a home or owner being targeted for theft.
- Owner's addresses are kept on secure databases of microchipping companies and are released only to authorised people.
- If a dog was to go missing far from home, a phone number should be the most effective way of reuniting for all parties.
- Calling a mobile should allow the owner to come to the location of the lost dog rather than the finder trying to take a strange dog to the owner's address, reducing safety concerns and costs for the finder.
- The homeless are not considered in this law.
- Phone numbers on ID tags rather than addresses should be safer and more effective overall.