Closed petition Make phone numbers compulsory on dog tags instead of addresses and names

Closed on 10 November 2021

The Control of Dogs Order 1992 requires the name and address of an owner to be displayed on a dog's collar or tag or risk a £5000 fine. This is outdated, unsafe and inefficient for reasons described below. Mobile phones are widely used now and telephone numbers should replace addresses and names.

- Dog theft is soaring and an address seen on an ID tag could lead to a home or owner being targeted for theft.
- Owner's addresses are kept on secure databases of microchipping companies and are released only to authorised people.
- If a dog was to go missing far from home, a phone number should be the most effective way of reuniting for all parties.
- Calling a mobile should allow the owner to come to the location of the lost dog rather than the finder trying to take a strange dog to the owner's address, reducing safety concerns and costs for the finder.
- The homeless are not considered in this law.
- Phone numbers on ID tags rather than addresses should be safer and more effective overall.