People encouraged to have their say on county’s dog control orders
Shropshire Council is encouraging people to have their say about where and how dogs should be controlled across the county, following a move to simplify the current system.
At the moment there are many different orders across the county which give guidance on issues such as dogs off their leads, dogs in public spaces and dog fouling.
Three new orders have now been proposed to replace these, covering the whole Shropshire Council area. These are:
- The Fouling of Land by Dogs (Shropshire Council) Dog Control Order 2013 – the offence of failing to remove dog faeces.
- The Dogs on Leads by Direction (Shropshire Council) Dog Control Order 2013 – the offence of not putting and keeping a dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised officer.
- The Dogs Exclusion (Shropshire Council) Dog Control Order 2013 – the offence of permitting a dog to enter land from which dogs are excluded.
If adopted they will provide a consistent legal framework to allow the council to easily tackle a variety of issues, and target the minority of irresponsible dog owners.
Tim Sneddon, Shropshire Council’s service manager for environmental maintenance, said:
“We recognise that people have strong views about dogs, whether they are about dogs’ mess on pavements and playing fields, or about the rights of dog owners to exercise their dogs; therefore, it is important to achieve the correct balance between the needs and wishes of all the community.
“The public’s views, along with statutory consultees such as council teams, the police and others, will help determine the form the dog control orders will take.”
For further information or to have your say please visit shropshire.gov.uk/dco.
The consultation will end on Monday 10 June 2013. Once it is complete, it will be considered by Cabinet later in the summer before coming into force.
