Dog fouling
It is an offence for dog owners not to remove any faeces deposited by their dog.
The offence is punishable by payment of a fixed penalty fine or by summons under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996.
If you take a dog for a walk and it fouls in a public space it is your responsibility to pick it up. If you fail to pick up after your dog you could be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100 or be prosecuted which could result in a fine of up to £1,000.
Report Dog Fouling
If you have witnessed a case of dog fouling please report it to us via our online form.
Disposing of your dog’s waste in public is easy. Simply pick it up using a bag, then deposit it in any public litter bin or take it home and place it in your landfill sack.
Dog fouling is unpleasant, dangerous and harmful. Not picking up after pets puts everyone at risk of potential diseases and infections which can cause blindness.
To target irresponsible owners, we have passed a Public Spaces Protection Order for Dog Control. In all public spaces throughout the county borough, it sets these conditions on owners with dogs under their control:
- You must collect and dispose of dog faeces by removing it and depositing it in a bag, or other suitable means of collection. The bagged faeces should be left in a litter bin or an allocated bin for its collection, or taken home.
- You must carry bags or other suitable means for collecting dog faeces.
- When an authorised officer requests it, you must put dogs in your control on a lead for a specific location and duration.
The order’s rules don’t apply to a person with a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 when all of these conditions are met:
- a dog has been allocated to someone to assist with their disability
- the dog has been specifically/formally trained by an appropriate charity
- the person has a disability which prevents them from collecting their dog’s faeces