Dog Control in East Devon
There are many dogs in East Devon and the vast majority belong to responsible owners who take care of them and ensure that they do not foul public areas. Unfortunately the small number of inconsiderate dog owners who do not clear up after their dogs cause problems for the community in general.
For a long time the Council have had byelaws and controls in various parts of the District, and now we are proposing replacing these with a single, simplified set of Dog Control Orders.
These Orders would ban dogs from certain areas, require dog fouling to be picked up on all open land where the public are entitled to go, and in some areas require dogs to be kept on leads. The proposals have been discussed by the Town and Parish Councils across the District who have suggested what may be needed in their local area.
At present the Council’s dog controls require that any dog fouling is removed from all land which is open to the air and where the public are allowed to go, except;
• land by a road where the speed limit is more than 40 miles per hour
• land used for agriculture or for woodlands, or which is mainly marsh, moor, heath and common land.
If you don’t clean up after your dog you may get a fixed penalty notice of £50, or if taken to court may get a fine of up to £1000 if you are convicted.
We also have various local byelaws such as the seasonal dog bans on beaches, and areas where dogs must be kept on leads, where you could get a fine of up to £500 if you are convicted of breaching the byelaw.
Under the new Dog Control Orders all offences are punishable by a fine of up to £1000 following conviction. For first offences, officers could issue a fixed penalty notice with a fine of £80.
We are also thinking of using the Dog Control Orders to make it an offence:-
not to put, and keep, a dog on a lead when told to do so by an authorised officer and
for one person to take more than six dogs at a time onto land
We would like to know what you think of the proposals and for the next 28 days are asking for your views. Please tell us by 23rd January 2009.
When we have received your opinion the orders will either be fully or partly confirmed, or we will revise the orders and ask you to consider the changes for another 28-day consultation period.
The draft orders we would like your opinion on are:
1) A single, district wide order making it an offence to:-
fail to pick-up after your dog fouls,
fail to put your dog on a lead when told to do so by an authorised officer,
take out more than six dogs at any one time.
2) An order prohibiting dogs from certain areas
3) An order prohibiting dogs from certain beaches between 1 May and 30 September each year
4) An order requiring that dogs be kept on leads in certain areas
On the right of this page are links to the areas where we are proposing to make these orders. If you click on the name of the town or parish you are interested in, you can see details of each order and maps of the area where we are thinking of applying them.
Please tell us what you think of this idea.
You can write to
Mrs R Wright,
Environment Protection,
Communities Directorate,
East Devon District Council,
Knowle,
Sidmouth,
EX10 8HL.
You can e-mail us on environmentalhealth@eastdevon.gov.uk
You can telephone us on 01395 517456
Each year we deal with around 100 "lost dog" calls. We will collect stray dogs and where the dog can be identified from its collar, tag or from a microchip, we will try to return it to its owner. We do make every effort to match calls about "lost and found" dogs and to reunite strays with their rightful owners at the earliest opportunity. We may in some cases be able to do this without incurring kennelling charges.
When the owner cannot be found or identified (or on a second or subsequent straying), our dog warden contractors will seize the dog and take it to kennels. Straying dogs can be expensive. There will then be an administration charge (currently £37) plus any vet's fees (where necessary) and the kennels' boarding rate (currently £11.15 for each day or part day) to be paid to the kennels or the dog warden before the dog is returned. The day of admission will always count as one full day and the day of collection will count as another day (if it is not the same day of course). Before reclaiming a dog you will be asked to provide both proof of your identity (for example your passport, driving licence or a credit or debit card in your name) and proof of your address (for example a utility bill of bank statement in your name showing your current address).
We will look after every stray dog for a period of up to seven days. If a dog is not claimed within this period, every effort will be made to re-home it. No dog will be destroyed unless a vet advises so.
Stray dogs should be reported by calling us on 0845 6010211 during office hours.
If you find you have lost your dog outside normal office hours you may call the Council's standby service on 0870 6091449 who will inform the dog warden on the next working day.
Finally, particularly if you are calling over the weekend you may also wish to check directly with our contracted kennels whether your dog has already been admitted. Seized dogs are usually taken to Drum Kennels, Roncombe Hill,. Sidbury, EX10 0QN. They are open seven days per week between the hours of 8:30am and 6pm and can be contacted on 01404 871247.
Collar and tag
With few exceptions, every dog in a public place is required by law to have a collar and tag with details of the owner's name and address. These are legal requirements in addition to any microchip that the dog may have.
It is an offence, punishable with a maximum fine of £5,000, to fail to comply with this requirement. If we find your dog without a collar and tag, in the first instance you will be given seven days to rectify the situation. Failure to do so is likely to result in prosecution.
Beach ban and other byelaws
Dogs are banned from certain areas of beach in East Devon from 1 May to 30 September each year. To find out where dogs are banned on beaches please click here.
Restrictions apply in the following areas:
- Exmouth
- Sidmouth
- Budleigh Salterton
- Seaton
- Beer
In addition, some other local byelaws are applicable, particularly in parks, gardens and children's play areas. Notices are usually displayed for guidance. Full details are available from East Devon Community Enforcement Officers.
Dog fouling
Dog faeces are unpleasant and can present a serious health hazard, particularly to young children.
Under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, owners MUST clear up after their dogs on all land (including beaches) to which the public have access. There are a few exceptions (e.g.. rural common land, carriageways with a speed limit of over 40 mph, and the verges alongside such roads). Failure to clear up after your dog can result in a £50 fixed penalty ticket, which must be paid within 14 days. No preliminary warnings are given. And where the fine is not paid, the case will be taken to court. Last year Dog Wardens issued 15 fixed penalty tickets.
When walking your dog, always carry a "poop scoop" or suitable receptacle to pick up your dog’s faeces. These can be put in a dog waste bin or taken home for disposal. If this is not possible, double-wrap them in two plastic bags and place them in an ordinary litter bin
East Devon District Council has provided many dog waste bins, each emptied twice a week.
Dangerous dogs
The investigation of a dangerous dog complaint is a joint responsibility with Devon and Cornwall Police. In the first instance, please contact the Animal Warden Service, which will advise of the appropriate action. Last year we investigated 47 cases.
Dog barking
Barking comes naturally to dogs, but constant barking or whining of a dog can be disturbing and annoying for a neighbour. In law, a barking dog can be a nuisance and the owner can be taken to court if he or she does nothing to stop it.
Worrying of livestock
If a dog worries livestock on agricultural land, its owner (or the person in control of it) is guilty of an offence. The definition of worrying livestock includes attacking or chasing, or being at large in a field/enclosure while not on a lead or under control. This is a serious offence and we prosecute in relation to most instances reported to us.
Last updated 10.12.2008
