Irresponsible dog owners still cause concern

NOW that the darker winter evenings are setting in Moyle District Council's Environmental Health Department would like to remind dog owners of their responsibility to pick up after their dogs.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Oct 2010, 18:24 BST
Updated 21st Oct 2010, 14:58 BST

While the majority of dog owners are responsible, a careless few are still giving dogs a bad name, littering our parks, pavements and open spaces.

Dog waste is not only an extremely unpleasant and unwelcome commodity it is also the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and other forms of infection such as Toxocara Canis which can be a source of illness and disease which puts children at particular risk.

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Moyle District Council is determined to tackle the problem, and over the winter months problem areas will be monitored and evening and weekend patrols will be ongoing.

Under The Litter Order (NI) 1994 it is illegal for anyone in charge of a dog not to clean up after the animal.

Sharon Bateson, Environmental Health Manager of Moyle explained: “If you let your dog foul and you don’t remove the faeces you can be issued with a 50 fixed penalty. The owner, or person in charge of the dog, gets the option to pay or go to court. If taken to court and found guilty the maximum fine is 500 plus court costs.

“We would therefore ask all dog owners to keep your district clean and report any regular offenders to the Environmental Health Department on 028 2076 2225.

“And remember, when walking your dog, never leave home without a poop scoop or plastic bag.”