Will Chicago License Pet Owners Instead of Licensing Pets

The Chicago City Council is looking into giving the pet owners a license on which they think will help reduce animal attacks. Which states: Any further regulation should continue to be not breed-specific, but owner/handler specific, such as licensing the owner rather than the animal.

City Council member Bob Fioretti said: That way, we keep track of how many dogs the owner has. It's a suggestion that will be part of the hearings. We have to look at mandatory spay and neutering. It's been proven that unneutered dogs are involved in more of these types of incidents not because of inherent aggression, but a propensity to roam.

The executive director of the city's Commission on Animal Care and Control Cherie Travis said: It's novel. But, I’d have to know more about how it would work. Who would issue the license? What would the criteria be? What would qualify people to be licensed as dog owners? In Minneapolis, there's an ordinance that, if your dog has bitten someone, you can't get another dog for five years. I'm certainly open to discussing best practices.

I believe that some people don't belong owning a pet, but to have the local officials say so is a no no.

Read the article by Fran Spielman here.