John Baron MP welcomes Government U-turn on poodle tax

MP: Shambolic policy is evidence of a Government begging for scraps

John Baron MP has today welcomed the Government’s U-turn on recently-announced plans to force all families across the country to pay a compulsory levy to own a dog. This would have applied to all dogs – including poodles and chihuahuas.

The policy would have compelled all dog owners to pay for third party insurance to be allowed to own their own dog. Families would face “penalties” – fines or criminal sanctions – for breaching this requirement.

John said:

“I am delighted that the Government has seen sense and buried this terrible policy. It was supposed to tackle the problem of dangerous dogs, but in reality it would have had no impact beyond forcing millions of ordinary families to pay yet another tax. Those who own dogs for fighting or intimidation, are hardly going to comply with such a law.

“We need tougher laws against the growing problem of dangerous dogs, but it was a sledgehammer to crack a nut to impose a dog tax on a poodle. This is yet more evidence of a shambolic Government not thinking policies through, this time with just a week between announcement and U-turn. Gordon Brown is once again barking up the wrong tree.”