Dog Fouling

Everyone should be able to enjoy living in a clean and healthy environment - no one should have to put up with the actions of irresponsible dog owners. In order to encourage responsible behaviour and deter fouling, the Council provides numerous dog bins and has signs reminding dog owners to clear up after their dogs.

Test Valley Borough Council has in force a Public Spaces Protection Order for Dog Control which, subject to some exemptions, makes it an offence for a person who is in charge of a dog to fail to remove the faeces after the dog fouls in any public place (including private land where the owner does not give consent to foul).  Individuals who fail to comply with requirements of the Order without reasonable excuse could receive a £100 penalty or may be liable for prosecution.

If you are experiencing problems with dog fouling in your area, please report the matter to the Council. The Council's Animal Welfare Officer co-ordinates the action taken to confront persistent dog fouling problems.  Whilst it is not possible to patrol all problem areas regularly, some additional targeted patrols may be carried out where persistent problems occur and we will review all means at our disposal to deter and confront irresponsible behaviour.

Should you actually see for yourself a person not clear up after their dog then, when reporting the matter to the Council, it would be helpful if you could include the following types of information in order to facilitate street cleaning and also for investigation purposes:  

  • The location of the incident – the road / street and any reference points on it (e.g. nearest house number)
  • Date and time seen - dog walkers usually take similar routes at similar times and so having this information could help us to witness any further fouling ourselves.
  • Description of the dog – knowing the breed, colour, and size of dog may help us to locate the offender.
  • Description of the dog walker, such as approx. age, sex, clothing and type of dog lead used – such information may help to identify the person.

Finally, any evidence found on car dash cameras, web cams, mobile phones or CCTV may be useful in investigating a suspected offence.

For further information please contact:

The Animal Welfare Officer
Tel:  01264 368000
Email: envhealth@testvalley.gov.uk