Have you seen this price hike??

shell820810

Ex-Spendaholic wrote: »

Thanks for posting this. I am totally furious. :mad:

I have 2 dogs. I pay the £5 licence each year for them, have them microchipped and they do not leave the house without us. There waste is lifted immediately also.

Compare that to the next door neighbour who has 2 dogs who have never been licensed who walk the streets all day and leave their waste everywhere, try to eat the postman and run after other people's dogs. They have been reported time and time and they get a £10 fine which they laugh at. :mad:

According to that article this will be a consultation. Lets get together on this and try to stop it. If it comes into play only mugs like myself will pay it whilst those who wouldn't pay the £5 a year will continue to get away with it. :mad:

I totally agree but I doubt there will be a PUBLIC consultation. I would like to know who to contact with my opinions on this.

See this updated link on BBC about this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8296702.stm

I think they need to clamp down on irresponsible breeders, these are the people who are selling these dogs to unsuitable and irresponsible owners.

But they said it was to stop stray dogs, but now Michelle Gildernew is saying,

"This, for me, is about tackling the people who have dogs who use them as a method of control and who have dogs that are maybe intimidating people in a housing estate or an area and trying to ensure responsible dog ownership"

Total different reason!! :mad:

I think its a money making thing, its nothing to do with animal welfare. More revenue for the government.

By the way, I own a £500 Yorkshire terrier - am I really going to let it roam the streets when it cost me that much? And is it really going to be used for dog fighting or intimidation?

So why is it a one size fits all charge?

Ex-Spendaholic

shell820810 wrote: »

I totally agree but I doubt there will be a PUBLIC consultation. I would like to know who to contact with my opinions on this

You're right it is unlikely. I remember a few years back when Belfast Sh1tty Council changed their leisure centre membership structure. I had been getting family membership 2 adults and 2 kids for £36 per month. Suddenly everything had changed and it was going to be double that. :mad: When I complained I was told that the public were agreeable at the "consultation meetings". I asked where these meetings where publicised and was told there were posters in the leisure centres and adverts in the local papers. Total load of bull as I'm the sort of person who reads everything on noticeboards and papers and would not have missed this.

So they'll do something similar with the dog licences. :mad:

dmxdave

Plans for a ten-fold increase in the annual dog licence have been reversed following opposition from dog owners.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8303759.stm

Ex-Spendaholic

Thanks for that DMXDave, my blood can stop boiling now for a while. :rotfl:

seatzie

thanks dmxdave, at last some sort of sense, I did tweet @niassembly asking who/where to get public consultation info and to be fair although it took a few days they did reply telling me who to ask about it

jenheiffer

dmxdave wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8303759.stm

Gildernew played an age-old game: if you want to raise the price of something, announce that it's going up to some ridiculous rate (£50) wait for the inevitable furore, then appear to be generous and say that you have taken complaints on board etc. and have decided to lower it to (12.50 ie. the figure you had in mind in the first place);)

Charco_2

JenHeiffer, dont be so silly!

They sat down and carefully calculated what it costs to the last penny for people to have dogs - £50 was the more than reasonable price they came up with!

But then after some cost cutting exercises that Ryanair would be proud of they were able to take away that first dogsh1t sandwich and present us with something a little more palatable! They're heroes and I wont have a word said against them!

So now we have a 75% disount on what it REALLY costs to have dogs!
Of course this now COSTS the Government money but they are a generous bunch! (Just like not presenting us with new water bills yet COSTS the Government!)

THat's the kind of saving dog owners should take straight to the bank!

EDIT - Got to laugh at this line:
Tom Elliott of the assembly's agriculture committee welcomed what he called a "climb down by the minister"

Still sounds like a 150% climb up to me!

seatzie

think I may just not bother renewing next year anyway....oh hold on the dog licence is in my wife's name (no jokes here!) so if I bin the renewal notice she won't even know shes not paying the hike lol

jenheiffer

It's on Talkback now - she's exempting neutered dogs (they'll pay £5) and those owned by people aged 65 or over (free). So if you have a dog pretend it belongs to your Granny.

Cuteybabe8

If you don't pay the dog tax would you then get fined?