Hammersmith and Fulham Council are considering introducing fines for various dog control offences including for owners that cannot produce a dog poo bag when asked.
The council says that it continues to receive concerns from residents about the behaviour of some dogs and irresponsible dog owners.
Dog Poo Bag Scoop
In response to this, the council is launching a consultation to ask residents their opinions about a variety of dog control related issues. The feedback from the consultation will help to shape and inform whether the council introduces a dog control public space protection order (PSPO).ย
These orders could cover a range of behaviours set out below.
- A โdog exclusionโ order, which would enable authorised officers to stop dogs from entering certain areas including childrenโs playgrounds, sports courts, multi-use games areas and marked pitches (where games are in-play) and dog free areas in parks.
- A โdogs on leadsโ order, which would enable authorised officers to stop people from exercising dogs off-leads in certain areas, such as wildlife conservation areas and cemeteries.
- A โdogs on leads by directionโ order, which would grant authorised officers the power to request that dogs be put on leads where they are not under the appropriate control of their owner, or where they are causing damage or acting aggressively.
- A โspecified maximumโ order, which would enable authorised officers to issue penalties to those walking more than the maximum number of dogs at any one time.
- A โdog foulingโ order which would enable authorised officers to fine those that do not clean up after their dog.
- A โpoop scoop and/or disposable bagโ order, this would enable authorised officers to ask dog walkers to produce a clean-up bag which would be used to remove the faeces from the land on request.
If the person in charge of a dog fails to comply with the requirements of the order, following a warning from an authorised council or police officer, they will be issued with ยฃ100 Fixed Penalty Notice. The offender will be taken to court if the fine is not paid within the specified timeframe.
Final Thought
The regulation of responsible dog ownership is a third rail in British politics. People love their parks but they love their dogs even more. Hammersmith and Fulham had better make sure their street cleaning is up to scratch before they trifle with the dog-owning public, they can expect pushback on these seemingly reasonable reforms if their streets are not clear of other litter.