It appears this modern dont` care throw away society has again stooped to a new low. The increase in the abandonment of animals reported in the media is unacceptable and could have been preventable if measures had been taken in the consultation for the new Animal Welfare bill had seen the RSPCA support a call for the introduction of compulsory licences and compulsory registered micro chipping.

The Government turned down the proposal by saying

Accountability and traceable ownership of certain domestic pets, namely cats and dogs would without question reduce the number of abandoned animals each year.

But perhaps an even greater concern is the rise in attacks on people by dogs and namely the recent attack on a young girl that sadly caused her death.

Is it not time that legislation not only brought in compulsory licensing but also introduced strict guidelines on Dog rehoming Organisations / centres that are apparently not under any control or guidelines in regard to the animals they keep and rehome. In many cases no home checks are undertaken and certain centres have a non euthansia policy which could see potentrialy dangerous animals rehomed or kept in cages for the duration of their lives. Not all dogs in rehoming centres are abandoned. A certain percentage are most certainly unpredictable, being compulsive runners or those with an unpredictable behaviour pattern ( biters )
Is it not time that with the new Animal Welfare a new code is introduced seeing only qualified rehoming centres that have both an  animal and human welfare agenda made compulsory.

Andrew Meads
Safewings Wildlife Conservation Projects