While the dog tax generated 421 million euros by 2023 in Germany, the question arose in the public debate about a similar measure here. Hunters, growers and Lot associations consider the system useless and counterproductive.
Before tackling the subject, we already had some biases. Dear private dog owners? A good idea, we thought, to make citizens more responsible. A probably professional distortion which reminded us of those acts of cruelty against our “best friends” that we may encounter in court. Like this young man who, depressed, stopped feeding his Malinois to the point of choking himself. Now we’re not so sure.
The dog, an object of decoration and consumption.
“It is a total aberration,” says Michel Bouscary, chairman of the Lot Jagtforbundet, very clearly. “This will above all create a parallel dog market. “A measure that is considered all the more unfair by hunters, as they perform game regulation functions. If the costs are too high, some may decide to have fewer of them: “It would make us less efficient. However, hunters who already have dogs will not give them up, they are very attached to them,” the president believes.
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Abandonment, the question is central to this issue of tax. A way to fill the treasury, but also prevent, with this additional cost, people buying a dog and ultimately abandoning it. “For many people, this will be an open door to not declare the dogs,” contradicts this breeder located in Quercy, who prefers to remain anonymous. “Having a dog already represents a cost. With this tax, abandonment risks multiplying,” she assures.
“The abandonments? In any case, we have them constantly,” explains the manager of the shelter La Ferme des rescapés in Cassagnes, which has not taken in dogs for two years. Too much work, not enough resources. “For what? Because people are just tired of their dog, because there is a new spouse, because they are moving, because their 7-year-old son has allergies. They find excuses other than because the dog is home alone and destroying the house and because it is a malinois who needs to exercise. “Anyway, money for this woman who has been collecting animals for more than thirty years will not be a factor that changes the situation. “We often see poor people who are able to spend €1,500 on a purebred dog. If they leave it, it is because the dog is an object of decoration and consumption to achieve happiness. But as soon as there is a problem, they get rid of it. »
“Covid Dogs”
Is this really the case? In Germany, the landlord tax dates back to the 1800s. This tax was intended as a tax on wealth. This tax is determined by the municipalities. The price can vary from €72 to €600 depending on various criteria such as location, number of animals and their breed. Above all, certain categories of dogs considered dangerous can be taxed up to €1,000. “In this particular case, I am rather in favor if we are talking about attack or defense dogs that are not registered with the LOF, such as the pit bull. This can help stop the trend of buying dogs that people are unable to breed , especially when we don’t know their breeding conditions. And to avoid dogs that we don’t know if they will be balanced and therefore not dangerous once they become adults,” analyzes Lagotto Romagnolo from the Pech du Cayrol kennel in Belfort -you-Quercy.
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But to be sure if the dog tax played a real role in the behavior of the owners, we contacted the local SPA in Berlin, Tierschutz: “It does not explain abandonments. Especially since the owners in Berlin are exempt from tax for the first two years. In Germany, there are actually two reasons. The first is the total cost of maintaining the dog, including vet costs, which doubled two years ago. The other is what we call “Covid-Hunde” (covid dogs). During the lockdowns, many people got a dog because they had time off. Now they realize they have neither the time, capacity nor dog-friendly accommodation. “A situation that is very similar to what we know in France.
In any case, the measure was mentioned in the media as a way to help fill the €16 billion “slippage” for 2024 announced by former economy minister Bruno Le Maire. But new Prime Minister Michel Barnier has officially ruled out the idea.
