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Dog Fouling

Craven District Council has adopted the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996, which makes it an offence for a person in charge of a dog not to clean up its faeces after it has fouled in a public area.

Dog fouling

If the person in charge of a dog fails to clear up after it, they may be issued with a £50 fixed penalty.  The offender will then have 14 days in which to pay the fine or face prosecution in Magistrate's Court, where a maximum fine of £1000 can be imposed.

An offence cannot be committed if:

  • the person in charge of the dog is registered blind;
  • the person who controls the land has consented to the faeces being left on the ground
  • the person in control of the dog has a reasonable excuse

The law does not consider as a reasonable excuse:

  1. ignorance of the law
  2. forgetting to carry a bag
  3. lack of no fouling signs

Only one fixed penalty will be issued to each offender, anyone caught failing to clean up on a second occasion, will be prosecuted.  If an authorised officer is obstructed whilst issuing a Fixed Penalty, the offender will be prosecuted.

How can I help?

If you witness an irresponsible dog owner, who fails to clean up after their dog has fouled, make a note of the date, time and location of the incident, along with a description of the dog and the owner and report to us along with their address if known. Dog owners generally tend to take their dogs for routine walks along the same routes so if there is a persistent problem we can monitor.

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