DOG LICENCES. The great growth of dog-keeping is re vealed by the record of the dog licence duties, which show that the dog populations have become enormous. In Great Britain dogs over six months old must have a licence which costs 7s. 6d. a year. Dogs used as guides by blind persons, sheep and cattle dogs, and hounds under 12 months old which have not hunted, are exempt. In 1926, 2,865,367 dog licences were taken out, but it is probable that there are about four million dogs in Great Britain. The penalty for non-compliance with the law is a fine up to is. The licences are issued at post offices, and their revenue goes to the local authorities in whose areas the receiving post office is situated. The law requires also that dog collars should be engraved with their owners' names and addresses, but it is not strictly enf orced. In Great Britain there is no way of telling if a particular dog is licensed or not.
In the Irish Free State dogs must be licensed when one month old and in Northern Ireland when six months old; in each case the licence costs 5s.
In the British oversea Dominions dog licensing is general. In Canada each province by statute empowers its municipalities to _impose a dog tax. Thus in Ontario the licence costs $2 for a dog and $4 for a bitch, a higher duty being imposed when more than one animal is kept. In Australia licences vary little; in Victoria all dogs are taxed at 5s. a year; in South Australia a dog is licensed at 5s., a bitch at 7s. 6d. All dogs must wear a collar or tab unless kept for hunting or coursing. In South Africa the tax is high, being i2s. 6d. in Natal and los. in the Transvaal, where there is a L5 tax on all dogs with a greyhound strain that can be used for hunting.
In Germany all dogs are taxed, the amounts varying in the different districts, being usually small in villages and high in the big tol,vns, and the law is strictly enforced. In Berlin the dog tax is L3 in English money. Sheep dogs on German farms go free of tax. A metal disc bearing the number of the licence must be attached to each dog's collar.
In the United States licences are issued variously by a State, county or municipality. Enforcement of the ordinances requiring registration of dogs is usually within the police powers conferred upon local corporations, but some States, such as Pennsylvania and Connecticut, have general laws on the subject. Registration of dogs above the age of six months, except those in kennels, for which there are special regulations, is usually required annually. A stated fee is paid to the city, county or State officer for the licence, the applicant receiving a tag which must be attached to the animal's collar as evidence of such registration. In case the tag is lost, a duplicate may be obtained, but failure to register a dog, under most ordinances, authorizes the officers to kill it.