Dog walkers in Daventry face fine, prosecution if they fail to pick up poo

Dog walkers in Daventry who fail to pick up their dog’s poo risk a £100 fine and potentially prosecution under a Public Spaces Protection Order introduced by the district council from the beginning of this month.

Under the PSPO, in force from 1 December, dog walkers also face a fine and prosecution if they do not:

• Carry the means for picking up their dog’s poo while on a walk;
• Stop their dog from entering a fenced-off playground;
• Place their dog on a lead when directed by a council officer;
• Put their dog on a lead in the area around the visitor centre/café at Daventry Country Park.

The local authority said the Order was designed to target “the small number of irresponsible dog owners who persistently fail to pick up after their pet, creating a mess as well as a health hazard”.

Daventry insisted that enforcement of the PSPO would focus on education at first, with people who fell foul of the new rules reminded of their responsibilities as dog owners by council officers.

“However the new powers will be fully exercised from the spring, so dog owners are being urged to make sure they get into the habit of taking plenty of poo bags out with them on walks,” the council said.

Cllr Mike Warren, Health and Housing Portfolio Holder on Daventry District Council, said: “Every year our council receives more than 100 complaints about dog fouling, which poses a real health hazard, especially to young children.

“We’ve introduced a number of innovative ideas and campaigns to tackle the problem, and those have proved effective in the main. But we still have a small minority of persistent offenders that we are keen to stop.

“This new order gives us greater powers to take effective action against those irresponsible dog owners who do not pick up after their pets.”

Cllr Warren added: “These new powers are not intended to penalise the many responsible dog owners in our district, who should be assured that our officers will be taking a common-sense approach on their patrols. It’s not unreasonable though, for example, to expect someone who has just arrived at a venue to walk their dog to be carrying poo bags.”