Herald & Lantern 14 March '84

42

outdoors

spoils

with Lou Rodia

Dog License Furor H ts Familiar Chord

It is always interesting to see the reaction when one s own ox is bring gored The most retjent flap has come from the 1 use of the reval.uation team in Lower Township, to take an unof-

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ficial dog census in the. township to ascertain who was and. who was not actually buying dog licenses Now a dog license is an inexpensive thing. It costs only a couple of dollars. It

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would keem that with such a piddling amount no one would complain. But apparently. Lower Township officials are finding out that that paltry sum is creating a problem For many who need the protection of. the companionship of or the love of a pet. the paltry few dollars in the minds of some may force others to give up their dogs For some, that may be hard to believe, but for those who are on strictly fixed income, and who are faced with the problem of meeting their bills that few' dollars is a big item There are some who might even argue that if one s income is that low. one should not be keeping and feeding a dog. Thus, they might argue, the license should not he an issue. For others, the dog license is one more incursion of government into our lives The license means registration, visiting ’ the borough hall and filling, out forms, taking a few bucks out of our pockets, and being made a matter of the • official” record in one more place in Uw^governmental computer! MOTHERS MIGHT ask what they are getting for the dog license. Their dogs do not - roam the streets, creating the problems the dog license is supposed to

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correct. The license may make the lives of some dogs better, but no one can explain exactly how The dollars collected for a dog licence are just one more form of tax. The money goes into the administrative maze. The license, once it is recorded .and the tag put on the dog. becomes a way to be hailed into court if your dog is picked up digging up the neighbor's flowers. Once the license is issued and the tag is applied, the process may become a way for the owner to be harassed The dog license, like so many others, has been tapped ak a fund-raising source. Once in place. (50 cents when we bought them many years ago) dog licenses have a way of creeping up. Now. the cost is $4.50 and it may go up

again.

And, since dog licenses seem so harmless a way to extract a few bucks to support the dog program i whatever that is in most towns), some areas are even looking at a cat license. And once having that accomplished, would not it be as ipgical to go ater parakeets and parrots? I think I heard of parrot fever and maybe we should know who does and who does not have a parrot SUCH IS THE nature of the licensing power. Look at beach fees. Look at your automobile tag cost and your driver's license fees. Look at any and all of the increases in hunting and fishing licenses. Onward and upward ... just like the boat registration fee. Once it was $2. Now it is up and .not only has it increased in price, it now is applied to any^nd all boats, including -simple sunfish sailboat. Get an idea where this column is heading and why we have stood so squarely against the salt water fishing license? Some would quit because the fishing license fee would be a financial burden. And as in the case of the dog license, why should the Tfcense stop anyone, even one person, from enjoying fishing (or owning a dog, for that matter)? For others, the inconvenience of securing a license (fishing or dog, it matters little) would stop them from securing one. Some would be faced with doing something illegal like fishing (or owning a dog) without a license. And they ; could end up being arrested i or fined. TO ENFORCE the law, | more inspectors would have to be hired (dog wardens or salt water fish

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wardens). Soon, the license (fish or dog) would have to be raised to get more money to pay more help More money would be needed to finance more research (do dogs get fleas, perhaps) and more money would be needed License proponents argue always that ‘things'' will be better if a license were instituted and the money'' was provided to take care of the programs. Ironically, one of the programs of the license proponents (fish) is that if you buy a license they will see that you get pore fis)i to catch. Dog license advocates advocate a pro • gram for spaying dogs so that there will be fewer puppies. I can t argue too much with either premise except that no matter what the goals, licenses are still a tax and that's the real bottom line. We have argued (hat the. real beneficiaries bf a salt water fishing license fere much more than the fishermen, who are already contributing countless dollars of their money for taxes from which their sport gets no immediate benefit. We refer to the taxes already being paid on gasoline, cigarettes and liquor: the sales tax on items which they buy which are used for and around their sport; sales taxes on their boats and equipment, all of which goes into the general fund; and a host of other taxes They also contribute substantially to the economy by providing jobs The entire recreational fishing industry generates a lot of state and federal income tax on the money earned by the people who work in the industry. Motels, hotels and restaurants all benefit from the flow of fishermen into any tourist area. So do gas stations, clothing stores, souvenir shops and a host of other unrelated businesses. SO IT IS WITH the pet industry. Billions of dollars are spent on dog food, dog collars, chains. , fences, feeding equipment and other related purchases. Sales taxes are paid on a lot of that. Build a kennel on your property and see whether or not your taxes go up. Try to fence your lot without acquiring a building permit. Do not fences (even if designed to keep a dog in) raise the value of your property? And, does not that mean •more taxes? Does not a lot of the income from the veterinary practice come from pets?* Strange that a lot of. the

irgun%)ts k ater fishing license are the same arguments against a dog license. Bui, again, it depends on whose ox is being gored. Unless you are a dog owner who fisKes, the salt water license never probably entered your mind. Unless you "are a fisherman who owns a dog. the dog license was never a problem to

you.

We all march to different drummers at times, but isn't it stifenge that the music is still the same?

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Leader Bows to C-View

CAPE MAY - The everimproving C-View team upended the league leading Dellas Stores team 6-5 in senior street hockey action this past week. Dellas took a 2-0 lead behind two goals by Eric Flickinger. C-View struck back with three unanswered goals at the beginning of the second period, two by Bill Ajelsson and one by Kurt Hughes, to take a 3-2 lead. Two more goals by Dellas, supplied by John* Walters and Flickinger, and a goal by the C-View s Mike Cronin knotted the score at 5- 5 to close out the period. In the third period Todd Schoffler netted two goals 6- 5. Dellas could muster only one more goal by John Walters as it went down to defeat 6-5. Two teams with identical 2-4 records met as the Cape May Volunteer Fire Co. took on Keltic, News and after three periods and a five-minute overtime g Briod they still had idencal records as they tied each other 4-4. Steve Watson led Kellie’s in scoring as he netted two goals. Watson was backed by Charles Temple and Mark DeCamillo, who scored a goal apiece. The Firemen were led in scoring by Stig Biomkvest, who blasted in two goals. STANDINGS Dellas Stores m C-Vie* 4.3 Cape May Volunteer Fire Co. 2-4-1 Kel Ue News 2-4-1

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