Birmingham residents are invited to have their say on proposals to renew the Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) in place to tackle dog control issues in a consultation launched this week.
In October 2017, five PSPOs were introduced to replace Dog Control Orders which ceased to exist following changes imposed by the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, to deal with the minority of dog owners who fail to control or clean up after their pets. .
A public consultation on the proposal to renew the existing PSPOs orders opened on Monday (3 August 2020) and will run for four weeks until 31 August 2020. There are no changes to the legal provisions, but there is a proposal to vary the order requiring dogs to be kept on a lead on roads, footways and verges, which it is proposed does not cover the same in designated parks across the city.
Birmingham City Council receives thousands of complaints about dog control issues: In 2019 officers received 2,677 complaints ranging from stray or aggressive dogs to owners not clearing up after their pets, resulting in 304 warning letters being issued by our dog wardens.
The five PSPOs currently in place make it an offence for anyone in charge of a dog to:
- Not remove their dog’s waste
- Not keeping their dogs on a lead on roads, footways and adjoining verges
- Allow their dog into clearly demarcated children’s play areas or school land
- Not place their dogs on a lead when asked by an authorised officer
- Take more than four dogs at a time onto any public land
There will be exemptions for assistance dogs.
For further details on these proposals and to have a say in this consultation, please visit www.birminghambeheard.org.uk
Closing date for responses is Monday 31 August 2020.
