A common issue raised to council regularly has been about dog walkers allowing their pets to foul without either picking up after or disposing of it correctly.
BUT more recently fellow dog walkers have been complaining on social media about the large amount of dogs they meet and interact with being walked while off or without a lead.
One such interaction has been posted on the ‘Ballymoney Town Improvement’ Facebook recently with the dog owner writing;
“Signs up everywhere round the trim trail walk reminding dog owners to keep dogs on lead for respect of other users of the area. Still some people think they are above the law.
This man refuses to put his 2 dogs on a lead and the dog in particular in the picture (below) comes for our dogs every time we are out and not in a friendly way either.
When asked to keep them on a lead and pay attention to the signs he told us hes dyslexic. Hope the dog warden sees him when hes out.”
Council by-laws prohibit owners from walking dogs off their leads in public and can result in a fine for not having their pets ‘under control’. This falls to council enforcement offices.
The NI Direct website describes a dog being under control when;
‘A dog is on a lead held by someone able to control the dog. For example, a large dog would not be under control if its lead was held by a child who would be unable to restrain the dog if it strained against the lead. It isn’t necessary for dogs to be leashed at all times. However, dogs must be kept on a lead in designated pedestrian zones and on land where livestock is present. Councils have bye-laws to show the areas where leashing is required, such as in public parks.’
