Why the dog licence is a barking-mad idea

YOU report (June 10) that dog wardens in Waterford are making house-to-house calls to check on dog licences. But why do we need dog licences? Neither the dog nor the owner has to pass any sort of test. The dog does not have to carry the licence — the licence does not even identify the dog.

The official answer is that the licence is needed to pay for the dog wardens. It is not a dog licence — it is a dog tax. What sort of idiots think that taxing dogs is going to stop them biting people, defecating on the pavement, chasing sheep or becoming strays?

Britain did away with the dog tax years ago on the basis that the cost of collection exceeded the revenue generated and it served no useful purpose.