[brytlea]

Where have you been? ;) I have had to license my dogs most places I have lived (except in rural East TX because we lived outside the city) for the past 30 years.
I’m not saying I agree with it, but it’s been going on a long time. It used to fund animal control (I’m sure it’s where it started). Now it’s a way for the Animal Rights crazies to control animal ownership and breeding. I pay $75 per year for my unspayed female. I would also have to pay $150 per year for a breeder permit. Lots of places have mandatory spay/neuter laws. Yes, the government thinks this is their business.
I’m all for them including cats, because I want people to get really really mad about this. Mad enough to rise up and say NO! Stop the madness! I”m sorry but it’s not the business of the government whether or not you choose to have a pet, or spay or neuter it, or for that matter if you breed it. It’s only their business if your animal is a nuisance.

[vetvetdoug]

Don't forget that the cat and dog taxes are to pay for all of the idiots that let their dogs and cats run loose and reproduce indiscriminately. The money collected from the responsible pet owners helps pay for the government bureaucracy that takes in strays, operates the pound, pays for the animal control officer and materials, and the clerks that keep up with the paperwork. The problem is that there are more irresponsible pet owners than responsible pet owners and this is the way the government tries to get a handle on the situation. Stray dogs and cats are a health and environmental problem and is getting worse.