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The borough was home to 19,577 licensed dogs in the 2019/20 financial year, according to figures released by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural affairs.

This provided Council with an income £126,882.50

The only other council in Northern Ireland to come close to generating this much income from the licencing of dogs is Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council issued a total of 18,208 dog licences in the 2019/20 financial year and this provided the Council with an income of £114,946.50.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the figures for the first three months of the 2020/21 financial year have ABC at the top once again.

Between April and June of this year, Council has issued 5,331 dog licences which have provided an income stream of £34,302.

A Council report on the matter, put together by Council’s head of environment health, Gillian Topping, said the Borough has had the “greatest number of dog licences each year since 2017 and correspondingly generates the most income”.

It also notes that there has been “no reduction in dog licensing and related income during COVID-19 restrictions as priority was given to ensuring expired and renewal dog licences were processed whilst staff were working remotely”.

The report credits the high rate of licences in the borough to “promotion of the ‘on-line’ portal for dog licensing applications along with focussed follow up and clear, robust enforcement work by dog wardens and support staff”.

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