Freeze Branding of Dogs

unlacedgecko

Well-Known Member
Freeze Branding of Dogs

Dear All,

I was recently the victim of a dog theft. In order to reduce future dog thefts, and assist with the recovery of stolen dogs I would like to legalise the freeze branding of dogs. Microchipping and Ear Tattooing are excellent ways of identifying lost/stray dogs. But they cannot be seen if you are not specifically looking for them. I believe that a large easily identifiable freeze mark would act as a theft deterrent. It would also greatly assist in making the stolen dog 'too hot to handle'.



I have set up an e-Petition at the following link.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/18789


I would also like members to write to their local MP. I have written a sample letter and attached a link to the website to find your local MP.

You can find your local MP here:

http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/

Copy and paste the below and send it to them as an email or letter.

Dear (insert MPs Title and Surname)

I am concerned about the nubmer of dogs being stolen in the UK. I believe it is rising rapidly. Mircochipping and ear tattooing are excellent means of identifying dogs which are lost or stray. However, a member on a public who sees a dog walking down the street will not be able to tell if it is microchipped or has an ear tattoo. I think that the freeze marking of dogs (as is done to cattle and horses) would be an excellent way of permenatly identifying dogs in a clearly visible manner. This would act as a theft deterrent and make it easier for stolen dogs to become 'too hot to handle'. As a member of your constituency I am asking you to work towards changing the Permitted Mutilations Regulations (2007) to allow freeze marking of dogs. Please send any correspondence to the following address;

(insert your name and address)

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely

(your name)

It is vital that you include your name and address or the MP will ignore the email as they will only respond to people in their constituency.


I am a private individual who wishes to change this law as I think that I could have a positive effect on the number of dogs being stolen and the number of dogs recovered. I am not affiliated to any freeze marking company, or any other company.

If you have any questions or require any more information please don't hesitate to contact me on this thread or via PM. Thank you for your support with this matter. I will also post this in the Deer Dogs forum to increase visibility.

cheers

Ug​
 
hi Ug,
this is a subject i thought about a year or so ago and i too think its a good idea, but think "due to the walt disney world we live in" we would be banging our heads against a wall.
 
Couldn't agree more about the problem however, and not wishing to criticise, but your sample letter has rather a lot of mistakes which might give a poor impression. Below is a slightly better version of your letter:


Dear (insert MPs Title and Surname)

I am concerned about the number of dogs being stolen in the UK. I believe it is rapidly increasing problem which is devastating for the dog's owner . Micro chipping and ear tattooing are excellent means of identifying dogs which are lost or stray. However, a member on a public who sees a dog walking down the street will not be able to tell if it is micro chipped or has an ear tattoo. I think that the freeze marking of dogs (as is done to cattle and horses) would be an excellent way of permanently identifying dogs in a clearly visible manner. This would act as a theft deterrent and make it easier for stolen dogs to become 'too hot to handle'. As a member of your constituency I am asking you to work towards changing the Permitted Mutilations Regulations (2007) to allow freeze marking of dogs. Please send any correspondence to the following address;

(insert your name and address)

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely


 
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Thought I replied to this expressing my thoughts that it was cruel. What you are doing is causing a cold burn with associated pain that to be legible would take a bigger % of dog skin cf horse/cow. Can't see it would ever be acceptable ethically. What we need is compulsory microchipping.

Can't see that my other reply to this was so controversial to be removed?
 
Thought I replied to this expressing my thoughts that it was cruel. What you are doing is causing a cold burn with as sociated pain that to be legible would take a bigger % of dog skin cf horse/cow. Can't seescteoo int would ever be acceptable ethically. What we need is compulsory microchipping.

Can't see that my other reply to this was so controversial to be removed?

Apache, this is a duplicate thread posted in the deer dogs section. You replied to the other identical thread in the 'general discussions' section.
 
Thank you unlacedgecko for providing an example of the letter to be sent via email. It was an excellent idea for you to set up an e-Petition. Indeed, fiscal hardship leads to several acts of desperation. It is not only true there in UK but also here in the United States. And, albeit national crime has gone steadily down each year, one crime appears to be increasing -- dog theft. Some say the scary trend is the result of economic stagnation. Now, are dognappings yet another sign of uncertain financial times?". Dog owners have to contend with fears that their beloved pets would run off and get lost. Maybe, money and bad economy are factors however, others cite more mundane reasons and warn against jumping to conclusions. So, what will be the other motives? I am really hating this!
 
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logistical problems

I don't want to be a damp squib, but...
having had a lot of experience of freeze branding on cattle, I can tell you that the numbers have to be quite big to be legible as you are reading the white hair on scar tissue which is not totally predictable when it regrows often leaving a white blob as posed a 0 or 6 say.

Secondly there has to be a standard format because if not someone adds another number and says "your dog was 123, but as you can see mine is 1234"!
The standard format would have to cope with millions of likely animals....how big a dog are you going to get?

I would also check out this link of a hound being freeze branded and would ask if a better approach would be mandatory licensing/ chipping/ with police/vets carrying chip readers and routine checking all breeds on the stolen list with a single national database, god knows we pay the kennel club enough, should they not chip in(excuse the pun)?.

BigGameHoundsmen.com View topic - Basic Freeze Branding
 
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