Fife Council’s Executive Committee has endorsed plans to tackle stray and unruly dogs.
Councillors have approved a £25,000 project to encourage dog owners register their pets with the local authority in return for incentives.
The scheme, which would be voluntary, has been floated as a means of promoting increased responsibility amongst dog owners in the region.
The council generates around £18,000 annually by charging dog owners for the return of their stray pets. However, fees for those who sign up to the scheme would be reduced significantly or even scrapped altogether.
Fife Council head of transportation Dr Bob McLellan said that in 2012 Fife Council received a total of 4,673 requests for service associated with dog related complaints.
He said this demonstrated the extent of the problem caused by irresponsible dog owners and their impact on the environment and the community at large.
He said the introduction of a voluntary dog registration scheme should in the fullness of time reduce the number of complaints received concerning dogs.
Conservative group leader, Dave Dempsey, questioned whether this was a good use of transportation money at a time when people were regularly complaining about unfilled potholes.
He said: “It’s a bit like parents’ night syndrome. The parents teachers don’t want to see turn up and the ones they want to don’t.
“Will it not be that only responsible dog owners sign up to the register?”
Lib Dem group leader Tim Brett questioned how it would reduce the widespread problem of dog fouling. Councillor Bryan Poole suggested it could pave the way for compulsory dog registration.
SNP group leader Peter Grant said he thought it was a good idea and suggested it operate as a pilot. He suggested it was not stray dogs that tended to be responsible for dog fouling.
Councillor Susan Leslie suggested a more productive scheme might be cat chipping, as they were far more likely to go missing.