Crackdown on dog fouling in Tavistock (From Mid Devon Star)

Crackdown on dog fouling in Tavistock

10:04am Wednesday 12th September 2012 in Devon

A crackdown on dog fouling in the Tavistock area is being carried out in a joint campaign between Tavistock Town and West Devon Borough Councils.

The councils have drawn up a series of actions to tackle the growing problem which is affecting some of the most beautiful areas of the town.

The town council has recently rejoined the borough's dog fouling partnership and from now on, a dog warden will be patrolling the town promoting responsible dog ownership.

Town council staff will be assisting the dog warden in identifying persistent offenders who do not clean up after their dogs and enforcement action will be taken against the owners.

Tavistock mayor, Anne Johnston, said: "The town and borough councils are working together to try and improve this problem. It really is one that affects us all and we can all play our part to stop it."

West Devon mayor, Robin Musgrave, added: "We know that the majority of dog owners are responsible and it is the minority who are causing this problem. We are asking for the help of the public in reporting persistent offenders to us so we can try and stop this."

In a new move, Police Community Support Officers and Council monitoring officers are now authorised to serve fixed penalty notices on offenders. A 'report it' section has also been set up on West Devon Borough Council's website enabling people to report dog fouling incidents online.

For further information contact the Borough Council's Environmental Health team on 01822 813600.