Careless dog owners be warned – Denbighshire Community Safety Enforcement officers are on the lookout for people who fail to clean up after their dogs after launching a concerted crackdown on dog fouling offences.
So far, three operations have been carried out across the County, stepping up patrols in hot spot areas and issuing fixed penalty tickets to people who do not pick up after their dogs and the crackdown is set to continue.
Denbighshire County council receives numerous complaints regarding dog fouling every day and dog fouling was noted as one of the top causes for concern among residents who took part in a recent resident’s survey.
Dog faeces can contain a parasitic worm which causes an illness called Toxocariasis in humans. Research shows through random soil sampling that the majority of the parks in the UK are contaminated with toxocara eggs and that a single dog mess contains approximately one million microscopic eggs. If every owner treated their dog for worms and cleared up after their dog, toxocariasis would be virtually eradicated.
Failing to pick up immediately after a dog is an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 1995.
Offenders can be issued with a £75 Fixed Penalty Notice and non-payment may be referred to the council’s Legal Team for consideration of a prosecution. If prosecuted and found guilty the maximum fine is £1,000. Those that bag the mess but don’t bin it (i.e. they dispose of bagged faeces in a hedge or tree) can face a fine of up to £2,500 in court for the offence of littering.
