£50 Fines for Fouling - On the Spot

Dog walkers who do not clear up their pets' mess will face fixed penalty tickets of £50 starting next week.

From Tuesday, 1 June, North Norfolk District Council animal control officers can issue the fines if they catch people not clearing up after their dogs on land open to the general public. Areas covered by the new fines include parks, footpaths, highways in towns and villages, and beaches.

People will have 14 days to pay the fine, or can exercise their right to contest the fine in court (but with a maximum possible penalty of £1000 if the court finds against them).

NNDC adopted the 1996 Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act in 1998, and the Act already allows for perpetrators to be taken to court and be subject to the £1000 maximum fine.

The Act also gives Councils the power to issue fixed penalty tickets, but until now NNDC has preferred to educate and advise people about the nuisance of dog fouling.

Council officers have spoken to people out walking their dogs over the last month, and have handed out information leaflets, to warn them of the impending crackdown.

"Education has gone as far as it will go," said Malcolm Rust, NNDC's Animal Control Team Leader. "Now we need to tackle the hard core of people who refuse to clear up.

"Dog mess carries disease, attracts flies, is unsightly and smelly, and needs to be kept off our public spaces for everybody's sake. Dog fouling is a form of antisocial behaviour that affects a large number of people.

"There are areas which fall outside the legislation, like agricultural land, but NNDC encourages people to clean up after their dogs wherever they are."

ENDS