Licenses Should Be Mandatory to Be a Pet Owner
The other day, my girlfriend and I saw a woman tugging really hard on her dog's choke-chain even though the dog wasn't really doing any thing wrong. My girlfriend then said, "People should have to get licenses to own a pet." I thought this was a really good idea, so I looked up if that has ever been considered by anyone else. I then found this article:
It discusses an assertion by UK's chief vet of the RSPCA in which he suggests all pet owners should have to obtain a license in order to combat animal abuse. The article explains how this claim received a lot of opposition from other groups, saying the idea would be too expensive, an insult to pet owners, and (most humorously of all) "more interested in animal rights than promoting welfare" (paragraph 6). I think this could be a helpful application, though there are many complications (people who already have pets without licenses, pets who would end up in shelters because there are less available owners, etc.). Though this is a highly complicated issue, I feel it is definitely one to consider.
I wonder if there are any parallels that could be drawn between having to be qualified to be a pet owner (with a license or by abiding some other kind of regulation) and to be a parent. I'm under the impression that many people would be inclined to oppose the latter while the former would be well-received. That is speculation from my end, but it is interesting to consider the differences with which we perceive the dynamic between animals and human beings.
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