Lichfield District Council is seeking local views to help decide if dog Control Orders should be introduced in local parks.
Lichfield District Council is considering whether it should introduce dog control orders across some or all of its parks. This would mean dogs could be prevented from going into areas of council-run parks, such as sports pitches or playgrounds, or they could be required to be kept on leads.
Councillor Andy Smith, Lichfield District Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure & Parks, said: “We know that the vast majority of dog owners keep their dogs under control when visiting our parks. However, we’re considering this action because some concerns have been raised over out of control dogs in certain parks.
“To help us decide whether there is sufficient need for control orders to be put in place, we are talking to local groups that use our parks as well as running an online survey.
“We need to know if anyone has ever had an experience with an out of control dog in one of our parks, whether the principal of the control orders is supported by park users, and, if they are, what format they should take.”
An out of control dog is a dog that causes nuisance, anxiety or worry to users of the park. This might be because the dog is aggressive towards people or other dogs, jumps up at people, or is distressing or annoying others with its behaviour.
Dog control orders provide clear rules expected of dog owners. They can compel owners to keep their dogs on a lead, they can ban dogs from certain areas, and they can limit the number of dogs controlled by one person. If the rules are not followed, the council could issue a fixed penalty notice and, if this is not paid, this could lead to court action.
The dog control orders survey is running from Tuesday 1 April to Friday 9 May 2014. To fill in the online survey, please visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/dogs