Wirral Council to start issuing on the spot dog fouling fines
Dog owners will received an £50 fixed penalty notice if caught not picking up after their pets.
Wirral Council has warned irresponsible dog owners that it isn’t ‘mucking around’ when it comes to enforcing legislation around dog fouling.
In an extension to the contract the council has with Kingdom to enforce the laws around littering, officers are now taking a zero tolerance approach to the issue of dog fouling. Anyone caught will receive an immediate £50 fixed penalty notice.
Cllr Bernie Mooney, Wirral Council Cabinet member for Environment, said: “As the recent public survey conducted on our behalf by IPSO Mori confirmed, environmental issues such as dog fouling remain the number one priority that residents want us to tackle.
“Our approach to littering has proved extremely successful as a deterrent and many streets in our busiest areas are noticeably cleaner as a result. Many people have urged us to adopt the same policy towards tacking dog fouling and we are delighted that we now have the framework in place with Kingdom which allows its enforcement officers to do just that on our behalf.”
Since 9th May, Kingdom’s enforcement officers have been able to issue the £50 fixed penalty notices to owners who fail to pick up their dog’s mess. To date, 10 fixed penalty notices have already been issued for dog fouling in the first two weeks of this new approach. If the FPN isn’t paid in time, then the offender will be taken to court.
Cllr Mooney added: “There is no excuse. We know the vast majority of dog owners do the right thing when they are out for a walk - they take bags, they clean up and they put the bagged mess in the nearest bin.
“We’re talking about an irresponsible minority and it is only right that we use the full weight of the powers we have as a local authority to try to change their behaviour and make our public spaces cleaner and more attractive.”
Dog fouling enforcement will be intelligence-led, which means that officers will spend much of their time in areas where particular problems with dog-fouling are reported. To this end, people can continue to let the council know about dog fouling problems by reporting online -
The zero tolerance approach to dog fouling will be backed by an awareness-raising campaign focusing on many of the groups of people who face particular problems because of dog dirt – people in wheelchairs, parents pushing prams and buggies, people playing in parks and open spaces.
Dog owners will also be reminded that their bagged dog dirt can be deposited in any of the 4,000 public litter bins across the borough – or it can be taken home and put in your green, non-recyclable waste bin.
If anyone is caught disposing of bagged dog dirt in an inappropriate way, they will be fined under the litter legislation, which at the moment carries a bigger fixed penalty - £80.
Cllr Mooney adds: “It is a simple message and one which every dog owner really should be aware of by now – bag it and bin it. It might not be the most pleasant thing to have to do, but it’s the right and responsible thing to do.”