Latest news with #dogfouling
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire councils crackdown on dog fouling
Two councils have set up schemes to clamp down on dog owners not cleaning up after their Riding of Yorkshire Council said it was stepping up efforts to tackle dog fouling and has urged people to send in doorbell videos or CCTV footage of incidents in order to issue East Lincolnshire Council said it had issued nearly 300 fines between September 2023 and August 2024 for dog-related offences including pet owners leaving dog said it would be rewarding those who pick up mess left by their pooch through a new scheme. Dog mess can pass on a disease called neosporosis which can affect other animals, like cattle. It can also cause infections in humans. Lyn Healing, an East Riding of Yorkshire councillor, said everyone needed to play a part in helping to keep areas clean. "We know that many dog owners are responsible and conscientious members of their communities, but there are a minority responsible for antisocial behaviour and unsanitary conditions," she said."We highly encourage everyone to play their part in helping to keep their areas clean and to use technology such as doorbell cameras to assist the council in its work in tackling dog fouling offences."Anyone with evidence of dog fouling incidents have been advised to get in touch with the council. A total of 284 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) of £100 have been issued by North East Lincolnshire Council for dog-related offences including "having no means to pick up, dogs not on leads and dog fouling".The authority said offenders could be prosecuted and face up to £1000 fine if they fail to has started a "responsible dog ownership" initiative to recognise those who clean up after their pets, with people being offered the opportunity to enter a prize draw as part of the Shepherd, a North East Lincolnshire councillor, said: "Whilst there are rules that need to be enforced, it's important we reward the people who are acting in the appropriate manner." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Liverpool dog fouling fines could rise to £100
Fines for anyone caught failing to clean up after their dog in Liverpool could rise to £100 as part of a fresh crackdown on littering in pet owners currently face fixed penalty notices of £ City Council has said it costs more than £12m a year to clean up littering and fly-tipping and the increased penalty is part of a raft of new proposals to offset the authority is looking at deploying an external company to enforce fines for such offences under a three-year contract. The council's cabinet is looking to secure a deal with an as yet unnamed company, with a tiered approach towards fly-tipping offences. Should senior councillors agree at a meeting on 3 June, the charge for dropping litter will increase to £150, up from £80, with an early payment option of £100 if paid within 14 additional £1.5m was approved during March's budget council meeting to increase environmental enforcement. Cabinet documents outlined how the £80 fine level had not changed for years and fixed penalty levels had remained static."The evidence suggests, particularly for the offence of fly-tipping, which is increasing year on year, the level does not act as an effective deterrent to committing the offence," the report and fly-posting are also facing sterner punishments, doubling to £200 under the of public space protection orders will also be subject to harsher penalties as part of the proposals, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scottish drivers ‘used as cash cow' while fly-tippers escape fines
Scotland's councils have hit drivers with more than £25 million of parking fines while 'effectively legalising' dog fouling and littering, it has been alleged. Figures obtained from the country's local authorities showed they had issued more than 600,000 parking fines, worth a total of £25.1 million, in the 2023-24 financial year. But over the same period, only 273 dog owners were fined for failing to clean up after their pets, with the penalties issued totalling £9,700 across the whole of Scotland. Fewer than 2,000 people were fined for littering, with half of Scotland's 32 councils issuing no penalties at all. Two local authorities – Glasgow and North Lanarkshire – were responsible for the vast majority of the £78,580 of fines issued across Scotland. Overall, nearly £2,600 of parking fines were issued for every £1 of penalties for dog fouling, and around £320 for every £1 penalty for littering. Stephen Kerr, a Tory MSP who obtained the figures, said they showed that most local authorities had 'effectively legalised' littering and dog fouling. He added councils were 'all too eager to take part in the SNP's war on motorists' by issuing 605,512 parking fines in a single year. Local authorities insisted they were taking dog fouling and littering seriously, but noted that they were 'observable offences' that required witnesses for a fixed penalty notice (FPN) to be issued. The data were published after they imposed Scotland's largest council tax rises for 20 years, with the average household facing a 9.6 per cent rise. However, auditors have said they are still facing a £647 million black hole in their finances this year, thanks to public sector salary demands, the rise in employers' National Insurance contributions and 'intensifying service demands'. A report issued last week said they have attempted to compensate the shortfall by introducing more charges, hiking council tax and drawing on reserves. But Mr Kerr said councils were not generating much money from dog fouling fines, despite being responsible for issuing them since 2002. He said: 'This data is absolutely shocking – it's now clear that most councils have effectively legalised littering and dog fouling. 'While they're happy to hike council tax by up to 15 per cent on hardworking Scots, they seem completely unwilling to raise a penny from those actually responsible for polluting our communities.' He added: 'In the SNP's Scotland, it's apparently worse to overstay your parking by a few minutes than to leave litter or dog mess on the pavement.' Mr Kerr questioned why other councils were not following the lead of Glasgow and North Lanarkshire councils, which were responsible for 88 per cent of the littering fines issued across Scotland's councils in between 2023 and 2024. Glasgow issued 1,207 fines worth £48,080 and North Lanarkshire 525 penalities worth £20,880. However, the other 30 local authorities across Scotland issued only 239 fines to litter louts, generating £9,620 in revenue. Aberdeen, Highland, Perth and Kinross and Scottish Borders councils were among the 16 to issue no littering fines at all during the year. Glasgow city council was also responsible for the most dog fouling fines, issuing 81 penalties worth £3,340 collectively. Fife council was second, issuing 64 fines worth £1,360. However, 13 local authorities did not fine anyone for dog fouling and eight others issued five penalties or fewer. Edinburgh city council reaped the greatest revenue from parking fines, with 174,033 penalties issued worth more than £8.1 million. Glasgow issued even more fines, receiving more than £6.3 million from issuing drivers 184,957 penalties in the city. Among the other councils to issue more than £1 million of parking fines were Aberdeen, which hit motorists with nearly £1.5 million of penalties, and Dundee, which collected nearly £1.3 million. Eight local authorities issued no parking fines as they rely on Police Scotland to issue penalties. The figures also did not include revenue from low-emission zones (LEZs), which operate in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. It emerged at the weekend that Glasgow's LEZ has generated more than £1.7 million in fines from the drivers of cars that did not comply with its emissions standards, since it was introduced two years ago. An Aberdeen city council spokeswoman said: 'City wardens have been given support to help tackle dog fouling and littering following calls from citizens for increased action against offenders. 'Aberdeen city council entered into an agreement with National Enforcement Solutions, which empowers them to issue fixed penalty notices to those littering or not picking up their dog mess.' Dawn Jamie, Fife Council's safety communities manager, said: 'Dog fouling and littering are observable offences, so to be able to issue a fixed penalty notice we have to witness the act taking place or have members of the public willing to give a formal statement to enable us to take any action. 'For dog fouling we also need to know the identity of the individual in charge of the dog at the time the offence takes place to be able to issue a fixed penalty.' Glasgow and Edinburgh city councils and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities did not respond to requests for comment. The Scottish Government was approached for comment.
Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Telegraph
Scottish drivers ‘used as cash cow' while fly-tippers escape fines
Scotland's councils have hit drivers with more than £25 million of parking fines while 'effectively legalising' dog fouling and littering, it has been alleged. Figures obtained from the country's local authorities showed they had issued more than 600,000 parking fines, worth a total of £25.1 million, in the 2023-24 financial year. But over the same period, only 273 dog owners were fined for failing to clean up after their pets, with the penalties issued totalling £9,700 across the whole of Scotland. Fewer than 2,000 people were fined for littering, with half of Scotland's 32 councils issuing no penalties at all. Two local authorities – Glasgow and North Lanarkshire – were responsible for the vast majority of the £78,580 of fines issued across Scotland. Overall, nearly £2,600 of parking fines were issued for every £1 of penalties for dog fouling, and around £320 for every £1 penalty for littering. Stephen Kerr, a Tory MSP who obtained the figures, said they showed that most local authorities had 'effectively legalised' littering and dog fouling. He added councils were 'all too eager to take part in the SNP's war on motorists' by issuing 605,512 parking fines in a single year.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Rossendale dog walker rules could be toughened, council told
Dog walkers in a Lancashire borough could face new rules including tighter limits on the number of dogs that can be exercised outdoors at the same time. A report prepared for Rossendale Council by staff at the local authority has highlighted how issues like dog fouling and litter were a "key concern" for have been asked to renew the existing public space protection orders, which are used to address issues with anti-social behaviour, on dog walking in the changes come after a public consultation and would see the number of dogs a person can take out for exercise cut from five to four. The cut in the number of dogs that can be exercised is in-line with advice from the RSPCA and Professional Dog Walker's Association, a council spokeswoman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The order was needed to limit the risk of dog problems, with fights, attacks, pack instinct behaviour and dog dirt "becoming overwhelming", the council report Council is expected to discuss the proposal to extend the orders to run for a further three years later this month. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
