WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 
over the other or others. In order to ensure the fair pay- 
ment, each dog should be supplied 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. Qd. per 
annum. Few are so poor that for the usefulness of a cat 
would object to pay that sum; and when we consider the 
number 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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