North Somerset Council vote to ban walking more than six dogs at once
It's part of a public space protection order voted in by the executive - who say they won't be taking a 'zero tolerance' approach on the issue
A ban on walking more than six dogs at once will come into force in North Somerset.
North Somerset Council has said it will not be taking a zero tolerance approach, however, but people attempting to walk seven or more dogs in a public place will first receive a warning – but they could face a fine if they try it again.
Council leader Mike Bell told a meeting of the council’s executive on 6 September: “We did do a public consultation on these proposals and there was strong support for the proposal that we institute the limit at six.
“But clearly there will be exceptional circumstances and we will need to keep that under review in terms of the operational realities.”
The ban — a public space protection order which covers all spaces in North Somerset open to the public, with or without payment — was voted in by the executive.
Portishead South councillor Peter Burden warned the executive that the rule was “a step too far,” adding that the council already had powers to make people put a dog on a lead. It was often dog owners with fewer dogs who were less able to control them.
He said: “I work for a hot air balloon company and at the balloon fiesta last year, a fair number of the balloons headed off towards Yatton, landed in a field. Two Labradors came over that were totally out of control whereas the pilot and I noticed in the corner of the field in Yatton there was a man on his own with about 25 beagles. Those beagles did not move.
“Am I led to believe by this, chairman, that the person with their two dogs would be completely legal yet the man in control over over 20 without causing any damage at all would be covered by this order?”
But deputy council leader Catherine Gibbons said that people being able to control such a large number of dogs was “the exception, not the rule.”
She said: “Dogs are not predictable. You can train them extremely well; I am a dog owner. But something can happen and that can trigger them and they can act like a pack.”
James Clayton, the council’s executive member for safety in the community, said that dog attacks in North Somerset had risen from 385 in 2020 to 480 in 2023, and that six was the limit recommended by the practitioner’s manual for dealing with irresponsible dog ownership.
More new rules and restrictions for dog owners could also soon be in place covering some specific places in North Somerset.
Mr Clayton said: “We are looking to go to towns and parishes to undertake further engagement with stakeholders for more localised area-specific orders.”