SIR – The Government’s proposal for compulsory dog microchipping only addresses half of the story (T&A April 24). There’s no point having a microchip-reference if there is no current register against which it can be checked.
The missing second half of the process should be a mandatory register of dog-owners, including a legal requirement to notify any change of owner – that way, the current owner of any troublesome hound could be ascertained.
This could be set up at minimal cost because it is exactly the same situation as car ownership at the DVLA, to which remote access is already available for approved authorities. Simply extend the DVLA system to include dogs, with the identical rule that sellers and buyers must notify any changes of ownership within a defined period, along with the parallel legal liability for any misdeeds. A token fee of £25 would not be unreasonable for this.
Thus, with no massive IT system cost, the issue of attributing responsibility for miscreant dogs could be easily solved and cash-neutral. But if I can work that out for free, why can’t all those expensive people whom we pay so much to govern us?
Graham Hoyle, Kirkbourne Grove, Baildon
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