NEW orders to make dog owners more responsible are being proposed in West Devon and the public are being invited to have their say.

West Devon Borough Council is conducting a review of the current Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO) for dog control and is considering introducing three new orders. These would be to limit dog walkers to walking four dogs at any one time; that dog walkers must carry bags at all times to collect their dog’s waste; and for dogs to be kept on leads on roads within 30mph speed zones.

PSPOs are imposed to crack down on anti-social behaviour in areas used by the local community.

Both the current orders which were put into place in 2017 and the three new orders will be part of a public consultation which runs until Friday, July 31.

The borough council says it appreciates that the majority of dog owners pick up after their pets and control their dogs effectively. However, it would like to encourage those who don’t abide by the rules to be more responsible and says it feels the protection orders would help with that.

The current orders run out in October this year and need to be consulted upon now and agreed for the next three years.

The current review affects all existing PSPOs within the borough.

WDBC’s lead member for environment Cllr Caroline Mott said: ‘It’s really important that as many people as possible give us their views on the existing orders within their area. We already have so many responsible dog owners who have perfect control of their dogs and we want these numbers to rise.

‘There are, however, a minority of people who still throw bags of dog waste in hedges, hang them from trees or leave to pick up later. Even in a field, animals can become infected or waste ends up in bales used for feed. These orders will help to combat some of these issues as they give us greater powers to fine those who aren’t respecting our public spaces [fixed penalty notices are up to £100].

‘We have three new proposals which we want to hear views on. The first suggests reducing the number of dogs being walked by one person. This is a growing issue with dogs sometimes in packs of seven or eight under one person’s responsibility, which can lead to difficulties with control.’

If you would like to share your thoughts about the proposals, contact the Environmental Protection Team on [email protected]