Dog Fouling

Barking and Dagenham

It is illegal to allow your dog, or any dog you are in charge of, to foul the footpath or any other public place if you do you could end up with a fine of up to £80 from our Street Wardens.

Dog fouling is a nuisance and also a real danger, particularly to young children, and can cause serious illness.

Responsible dog owners clean up after their dog by using a bag or a poop scoop to remove their dog's mess and dispose of it safely.

We now provide dog mess bins in many of our parks and open spaces for the safe disposal of dog mess.

What can we all do about dog fouling?

Report it!. Please report any dog fouling incidents to us.

What we will do to help

We inspect and/or clean every road in the borough at least once a week
In busy areas such as shopping centres, we provide additional cleansing
In the Town Centre there are permanent cleansing staff solely responsible for continuous cleaning
We will remove dog fouling from any public space within 24 hours of it being reported
We will empty dog fouling bins on a daily basis

Prosecutions and the law

We will prosecute people who persistently allow their dog to foul in parks, on footpaths or any other public area.

The dogs fouling of land act states that if convicted, the person in charge of the dog at the time of the offence (not necessarily the owner) can face a fine of up to £1,000.

Our Street Wardens will issue a fixed penalty notice for a fine of up to £80 to anyone who has failed to clean up after their dog. If you fail to pay the fine, we will take you to court.

Remember, it is illegal to allow your dog to foul the following areas:

All footpaths, footways and roads maintained at public expense
All grass verges, shrub beds and tree bases maintained at public expense
All parks, play areas, cemeteries and leisure land owned and maintained by us
All parts of council owned housing estates including grassed areas, shrub areas, play areas, footpaths and roadways in common use, stairwells, balconies and walkways open to the air and all external areas to council owned public buildings

Ask the Street Warden

Our Street Wardens know more about dog fouling than they would like to! Here are the answers to some of the questions they get asked most often.

Is it okay if I make sure my dog fouls the side of the road instead of the footpath?

No! Dog fouling is not allowed on any public land, and that includes the roadside, gutter, pavement or kerb.

Is dog fouling really such a big problem in Barking and Dagenham?

Yes it is. Each year in Barking and Dagenham literally tons of dogs mess is produced. All of this has to be cleared up at the tax payers' expense. So every time you pick up your dogs mess, you are actually saving public money!

What steps we take to prosecute offenders

Our Street Wardens will give advice to dog owners and even give them free bags to clear up after their dogs, but dogs mess is disgusting and we will not hesitate to issue irresponsible dog owners with a fine of up to £80. If the fine is unpaid after 14 days, then we will take you to court.

Contact

Business Support Team

Environmental and Enforcement Services

Roycraft House

15 Linton Road

Barking

IG11 8HE

Supported by Barking and Dagenham Direct:

Tel: 020 8215 3010

Fax: 020 8227 5184

Textphone: 020 8227 5755

Email: 3000direct@lbbd.gov.uk|

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8am - 8pm.