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The Labor government’s proposal to require all dog owners in England and Wales to obtain liability insurance on their pets [See IJ web site – /news/international/2010/03/11/108050.htm] has been withdrawn only a week after it was proposed.

The legislation would have required English and Welsh dog owners to obtain microchips as well as insurance, but it never got off the ground, despite the strong support it received from the country’s postal workers.

The measure was attacked almost immediately as being an unnecessary burden on the vast majority of well behaved dog owners, and as being ineffective in preventing attacks by “dangerous breeds,” such as pit bulls, which are already banned by law.

The country’s insurance industry was also less than enthusiastic, as it raised the question of liability for attacks by uninsured animals whose owners failed to obey the law.

Source: News reports