UPDATE, PLEASE NOTE!  This petition has now transferred to the Parliamentary Petition Site - please sign on there instead! https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/258302/sponsors/new?token=6bF9cds2oB8WOCqM9nTn    Thank you, (and I apologise for any inconvenience.)  The sales and methods of obtaining animals as pets or working animals have regularly proven misguided, cruel, irresponsible and illegal. Due to the lack of appropriate regulations, animals are frequently obtained (often free of charge) with dire outcomes; these often result in pets being abandoned when no longer wanted, used with dog baiting, being treated badly and uncared for, farmed for breeding and going to irresponsible owners, amongst many unacceptable ends.

Help to avoid these disturbing situations by bringing back licensing for all of these animals. The mere process of paying for an animal licence, at the time of obtaining the animal, will give more verification that the prospective owner has thought about the future costs of owning, and caring for, a pet. Included in the price of, and receiving, the licence should be the cost of having the animal microchipped which, again, leads to confirming the serious intentions of the prospective owner. It is already a legality to have a dog microchipped, but not other animals; compulsory microchipping in this way will, in turn, save much heartache with missing animals, assist in their return, combat thefts and illegal transactions and save a lot of money and expenditure for those involved. Licences can be used to register, both, the owners' and the animals' details, including vet visits, actions of cruelty, behavioural, "Pet Passports", amongst many other relevant information which often cannot be obtained when an animal is found, sold or given away. It will also be a deterrent for animals going to unaccountable or illegal keepers.

It has, sadly, become a regular feature on the news, social media and other channels that pets are often offered for rehoming after a short amount of time, that animals are being found after heinous actions being carried out, that much-loved pets go missing without trace, or are killed by a car with no way of tracing if it's part of someone's family, that people are unable to cope with their pet, or control it, when necessary, and many, many more intolerable cases.
I believe that a pet licence, incorporated with the mandatory microchipping, will go a very long way in helping the lives of animals and the owners of their homes.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS PROCEDURE, OF A LICENCE FOR EACH PET, COMPULSORY - it is already indispensable!

Thank you for your time and consideration reading this plea, and please share with your friends, acquaintances and pertinent authorities.