New ban mooted for dog owners

The restriction on the number of pets which can be taken out together will apply to any land which the public are entitled to use.

It has been included in a new draft dog control order being considered by Arun District Council.

Failure to obey the law could lead a dog owner to the magistrates' court where a fine of up to 1,000 could be imposed.

The council's staff could also issue a 80 fixed penalty notices for a dog walker acting unlawfully. Failure to pay would be another offence.

Bognor Regis and District Dog Training Club said in a statement a blanket ban on dog numbers should not be imposed.

"One person can control four, or even five, dogs on the lead, provided those dogs are well trained, while one untrained dog often cannot be controlled by one person.

"If an individual is apprehended for having more than four dogs on leads, then consideration should be given to the actual dogs concerned and their ability to be controlled, depending on the size of the dogs and the level of training they have received. The rule should not be general."

But the dog training club called for every area where people walk or children play to become free of dog faeces, except for roads with a speed limit of more than 40mph and grass verges along them.

This goes beyond Arun's intention to exempt farmland and woods, mainly marshland, moor or heathland areas and rural common land as well as 40mph-plus roads from the requirement for dog owners to clear up after their animals.

The draft dog control order has been issued by Arun for consultation with parish and town councils by June 13. A 2005 Act of Parliament give the local councils the power to introduce their own orders.

The district council believes it would be better to have one order for the whole district rather than a patchwork of separate orders with different restrictions.

Apart from the ban on the excessive number of dogs, the order repeats the existing dog control byelaws.

This means that it will remain an offence for a sighted and able-bodied person in charge of a dog to fail to remove its faeces from any public area.

Dogs will continue to be banned from Marine Park Gardens, Aldwick; Steyne Gardens, Bognor; and Blakes Road leisure gardens, Felpham, among other sites.

They will also still be barred from the beach between Park Road and Gloucester Road, Bognor, and Canning Road to Felpham Sailing Club between May 1 and September 30.

Dogs must be kept on leads in areas such as Waterloo Square, Bognor; Jubilee Field, North Bersted; Hotham Park, Bognor; and Felpham beach huts.

An Arun spokeswoman said preliminary consultation about the draft order was taking place.

"Parish and town councils are currently deciding if they want to be included in the district council's composite order.

"It is premature to consult on the content of the order until those decisions have been forwarded to the district council."

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