A Warminster woman has been prosecuted for not having an identification tag on a collar or a microchip registered for her dog. Jenna Louise Williams of Beech Avenue was prosecuted under both the Control of Dogs Order 1992 and the Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulation 2015. Salisbury Magistrates Court heard on 7th December 2021 how a member of the public discovered a stray dog in November 2020. The dog was taken to the holding kennels and was collected after two days by the owner. She was served with a microchip improvement notice, that required the dog to be registered against the chip within 21 days.
Officers from the council’s Dog Warden team repeatedly tried to engage with the owner through letters and telephone calls, but when the dog’s microchip was checked again in January 2021, it still had not been correctly registered on a government approved website, so the decision was made to prosecute. The owner failed to attend the court hearing, so the case was held in their absence. Magistrates issued a fine of £220 for each offence, plus a victim surcharge of £44 and prosecution costs of £336.77, meaning a total fine of £820.77.
To report a stray dog people should call Wiltshire Council, 24 hrs a day, 0300 4560107.
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