Concerns new dog fouling penalties lack bite

A new Derry City and Strabane District Council policy will see pet owners who allow their dogs to foul on the street being brought before a court if they are caught three times in a year.

The Dog Control Enforcement Policy was unveiled at a meeting of the Council’s Environment and Regeneration committee, held in Strabane.

At the meeting, a number of elected members expressed concerns over effective the new measures would be in tackling problems associated with dogs, particularly dog fouling.

Under the new policy, if a dog owner is caught allowing their pet to foul without the cleaning up afterwards, they will be issued with a fine of £75.

If they are caught a second time, then they will be issued with another fine.

It is only when they are caught for a third time that they will be prosecuted and brought before a court.

Speaking at the meeting, Sinn Fein Ccouncillor Karina Carlin said that she had doubts if the new policy would be effective in tackling dog fouling.

“This (dog fouling) is and has been the bane of our lives and is the single most complained about thing,” she said.

The DUP’s Hilary McClintock said the Council ‘needed to take more stringent measures’ against dog fouling while the SDLP’s Shauna Cusack said she would ‘welcome anything that stops the abuse of our pathways by irresponsible dog owners’.

However, she did raise concerns that when the policy was discussed last year, there were ‘stricter penalties’, adding that ‘it seemed to be dragging its heels’ in terms of erecting signage and informing the public.

Independent Councillor Paul Gallagher suggested Council could take DNA samples from dog fouling in order to apprehend irresponsible owners.