New controls to tackle nuisance dogs and owners

New controls on dogs and responsibilities on their owners across Leeds will come into force next week.

Thousands of people took part in a city-wide consultation about the orders which are intended as a way to tackle owners who do not clear up after their pets and for the council to help protect the health of children and deal with nuisance dogs. Leeds City Council is to implement the new orders from next Tuesday.

The orders, which will apply across the city, give council staff the power to direct any owner to put their dog on a lead if it is causing a nuisance or annoyance and dogs will be excluded from children's play areas in some parks

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It will be a criminal offence to breach the new orders – conviction can result in a fine of up to 1,000 or an owner can choose to pay a fixed penalty of 75 to avoid prosecution.

During 2009-10, the council received 684 complaints about dog fouling in the city, issued 96 fixed penalty notices for dog fouling and prosecuted 11 people.

Almost 2,000 responses were received to the consultation over what the council should do with its new powers, including formal responses from local parish councils and the Dogs Trust. The council responded to the views raised, and proposals were agreed by the council's executive board last November.

Coun Tom Murray, the council's member for environmental services, said: "We want to promote responsible dog ownership but there is a minority of owners who do not take those responsibilities seriously. Dog dirt, nuisance dogs and strays should not be allowed to blight our streets and these powers will help us tackle these problems.

"Most importantly, dogs are no longer allowed in our children's play areas – this protects youngsters from picking up potentially dangerous infections from dog dirt."