Having just registered my first dog (and been shocked by the cost), I'm curious about how much you all pay. Costs vary greatly among councils across NZ. My council just happens to be one of the most expensive! Which is a joke because our animal control centre are bloody useless. $172.50 (£93.95) for an un-neutered dog $122.50 (£66.72) for a neutered dog $91.50 (£49.83) for a neutered dog in the "good owner scheme" (fully fenced area in your garden, no dog complaints in the past 12 months, micro-chipped, pass a council inspection) $139.50 (£75.98) for an un-neutered dog in the "good owner scheme"
In the UK, there is no requirement to register dogs - the need for a dog licence was removed years and years ago. There is a requirement to microchip a dog, but that's all.
@JulieT now I'm feeling even more ripped off! I wonder why it was done away with? It's clearly a nice little earner for my council.
The requirement to hold a dog licence in the UK was viewed as ineffective in controlling stray dogs, or dangerous dogs. People who bothered to buy a dog licence were not the ones (generally) causing any problems. Out of control, stray and dangerous dogs were generally owned by people who didn't buy a dog licence. So it was viewed as ineffective and largely unenforceable requirement that ended up costing more in administration than the revenue brought in. The UK moved to specific legislation eg The Dangerous Dogs Act - which, arguably, has been equally ineffective (although is at least cheaper).
That's no difference to here - the problematic dogs and irresponsible owners aren't registering anyway. I'm definitely going to raise this with my council as local elections are coming up.
In the Isle of Man it is £20 per year, with a reduction to £10 if the dog is neutered and/or microchipped (it's not yet mandatory to chip your dog - much debate going on) - and yes, it seems only the responsible dog owners licence their dogs.
In the A.C.T it's $51 for lifetime registration (so it's a one-off fee, compulsory from the age of 8 weeks). Microchipping is also compulsory (Obi had to be re-chipped last weekend as he'd stopped beeping). I like the idea of dog registration but I'm sure it doesn't do anything at all of use. Desexing is compulsory too and that's been shown to have no effect on reducing the numbers of unwanted dogs. Same problem in both cases....the bad owners and backyard breeders just ignore the law... In the A.C.T. you now can't advertise a litter without displaying a breeder licence number so maybe that will make a tiny dent. Anyway, straying (sorry, pun) slightly from the registration topic!
In Maine, every year it is $6 for neutered dogs and $11 for un-neutered dogs. No microchips, but you must have up-to-date rabies vaccine certificate. Other states may have different costs, but I think all require rabies certificate.
In our local council (in Melbourne) it's about $50 per year for a desexed dog. First year puppy registration is free. It's a lot more expensive to register an entire dog and you have to apply for an exemption to register them as entire (generally if you've registered them with the kennel club for breeding or if you can provide evidence that there is a medical reason that they shouldn't be desexed).
My gosh, @Xena Dog Princess are those once a lifetime fees or annual? Now I feel silly complaining that unspayed females cost $21 dollars while intact males and neutered of either sex were only $10. Thanks to me (I was not the only one) making this complaint intact male and female dogs are now both a higher price than neutered, now that I have an intact male. It's a higher price now, annual, but not much.
