A consultation on dog fouling is out and will run until 30th January 2012 - after which time responses will be considered and a final report taken to April’s Cabinet meeting. As folk will know this is a continual problem in a few areas of the Parish and I welcome many of the proposals being put forward by the District Council.
Dog fouling continues to be regarded as one of the key priorities in
the minds of residents - it came out fourth in a survey I did re local issues for the ward several years ago. As well as being highly anti-social,
dog faeces, we know, can cause ill health effects,
especially in young children, including toxacariasis which can, in extreme cases,
lead to blindness.
What are
the District consulting on?
To help reduce the problem Stroud District Council is consulting on the
introduction of dog control orders. The specific control orders the Council believes would enhance the
district relate to:
- Failing to
remove dog faeces
- Not keeping a
dog on a lead
- Not putting,
and keeping, a dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised
officer
- Permitting a
dog to enter land from which dogs are excluded
Here below is more info but I recommend seeing the full reports at: www.stroud.gov.uk/dog
Failing to remove
dog faeces
The Stroud district would be subject to an order requiring owners to
clean up after their dogs in all areas open to the air, to which the public
have a right of access, in accordance with the Clean Neighbourhoods and
Environment Act 2005, that are not subject to any exemption under that Act. The Council is of the opinion that there are no areas to which the
public has a right of access where it would be acceptable to allow a dog to
foul and not clean it up. Any individual witnessed not picking up after their
dog would be subject to enforcement action.
Permitting a dog
to enter land from which dogs are excluded:
In relation to the exclusion of dogs from specific designated areas, the
Council would consider those areas where the advantage of excluding dogs will
be to the benefit to the public at large. The Council is of the opinion that there are certain areas of the
district where dogs should be excluded. In particular all enclosed children’s
play areas and specific areas where children’s play equipment is located within
larger parks or playing fields or areas regularly used by football or other
sports clubs. In these areas the
potential for children to come into contact with faeces and residual dog
faeces, (the faecal matter that remains once a dog owner has removed the
majority of excrement) is high. Reducing the possibility of children coming
into contact with dog faeces by excluding dogs is self explanatory.
The Council has already identified as potentially
benefiting from dog exclusion zones all enclosed children's play areas where play equipment is provided for
children's use.
The Council would specifically welcome your comments regarding
those areas you or your business feel would benefit from dog exclusion. In
particular if you run or manage an area where dog faeces is a problem and wish
to make a case for proposing a dog exclusion zone please do so. The Council can
then consider these as part of the process.
Areas subject to a
requirement to keep dogs on leads:
In relation to keeping dogs on leads the Council would look to designate
specific areas where the advantage of doing so in terms of a benefit to the
public at large can be demonstrated. The Council is minded to introduce a control order maintaining
that on specific footpaths to include, but limited to, those footpaths to and
from schools and those other footpaths where incidents and complaints of dog
fouling are high. Keeping dogs on
leads on footpaths to and from schools would reduce the amount of dog fouling
that currently goes ‘unseen’ by dog owners. A dog needs to physically stop to
defecate, if on a lead, the owners would certainly be aware of it.
If an authorised Council Officer witnessed a dog running free in a
‘dogs on leads’ designated area, action could be taken.
If you run or manage an area where dog faeces is a problem or are
a parent who walks a child to school along affected footpaths, and wish to make
a case for proposing dogs be kept on leads please do so. The Council can then
consider these as part of the process.
A list of areas that the Council has already identified as potentially
benefitting from dogs on leads zones are detailed on the website - the only one identified at the moment in this ward relates to allotments.
How do I respond
to this consultation?
Please contact the Council in one of the following ways to let us know
your thoughts on the proposal and any areas you feel would benefit from a Dog
Control Order.
By email to Environmental.health@stroud.gov.uk
By phone: 01453 766321
In writing to:
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