Obviously there is a need for certain licenses. These are easy enough to spot. They typically make sense. Not just to you or me, but to darn near everyone. Things like a driver’s license fit into this category. It’s reasonably nice to think that the person headed down the freeway with you has at least some chance of being able to adequately operate their vehicle. Of course, that’s not always the case – but generally it seems a pretty safe assumption. A similar licensing/qualification scheme for something like an airline pilot is useful. I think most will agree with this sort of thing.
Other areas are less clear. For instance – a license for your cat or your dog. Why exactly is this necessary? I appreciate that it’s a nice idea – but come on. Someone who doesn’t believe in the neutering of their pets, or even the getting of shots, just isn’t going to do it. How in the world is this enforceable? There’s no way that even the smallest of towns is going to know the location of every single pet within their boundaries. It’s impractical.
It’s also a farce – I can understand the need to get a license to operate my vehicle. But to save a stray animal from certain death, you have to get a license? Most people will understand the cost associated with animals – veterinarian, food, housing, toys – the list goes on and on. Now we have to drop another few bucks to the city – for what? They didn’t help save the animal. They didn’t help feed it, they don’t get up every day to play with it, they didn’t supply a free battery of shots to ensure the animal’s health.
This is a case of a good idea gone horribly awry.