WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 



over the other or others. In order to ensure the fair pay- 

 ment, each dog should be suppHed with a small stamped 

 medal ; it need not be larger than a fourpenny-piece. 

 This must bear the Government stamp, and be affixed to 

 the dog's collar, and any dog found without this mark 

 should be liable to be seized by the persons appointed for 

 this purpose. Doubtless, this law, if carried out, would 

 quickly reduce the number of useless and dangerous dogs. 



The pest of cats can be treated in a similar manner. 

 It may appear at first much more difficult, no doubt, but, 

 like many other newly-thought-of schemes, if fairly tried, 

 may be found to work well after a while. It cannot be 

 denied that the enormous number of useless and disowned 

 cats are a most vexatious and distressing annoyance ; the 

 depredations they commit are generally at night, not 

 only in gardens and out-buildings but in our habitations, 

 killing and carrying off all kinds of birds, rabbits, poultry, 

 etc., and doing much damage to our food, etc., and causing 

 no end of trouble by stealing, and disturbing our peace 

 by fighting and quarrelling. Now, in order to come to 

 terms let a small tax be levied on cats, say 2s. 6d. per 

 annum. Few are so poor that for the usefulness of a cat 

 would object to pay that sum ; and when we consider the 

 mimber of houses, say in London alone, what a marvellous 

 amount would be raised by this much-required reform. 

 Many houses have four or five cats, and can well afford 

 the tax, and the cats could be supplied with a small 

 Government stamp and a receipt for the tax at the same 

 time. There is no real difficulty in fixing a small collar 

 upon a cat that would in no way interfere with its comfort 

 or usefulness. 



The dog and cat tax could be collected together, and 

 would therefore involve no additional expense. 



No doubt the difficulty of ascertaining the number of 



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