Dog Fouling Fpn?

[Cheatseeker!]

Can anyone out there tell me please, under the dog fouling of land act, can a parent be issued with a FPN for dog fouling if a child from the family was out walking the dog at the time of the offence?

[anneasquith]

im not sure. would it depend on the age of the child ?

[Orderlimit]

Hi how old is the child?

[rockyracoon]

This is from Tamesidebut would imagine it'll apply in most places


What if a child takes the dog for a walk and it fouls?
A child can be shown how to clear up dog foul safely and cleanly, and when they are in charge of the dog, they would be responsible for clearing up after the dog. In the case where a child does not clear up, the action will depend on his/her age;

A child under fourteen will not be considered in charge of the dog, instead the offence will be deemed to have been caused by the habitual owner who has failed to ensure that a responsible person is in charge of the dog;
A young person of fourteen to sixteen will be in charge, but in the first instance we will issue a warning in writing. Otherwise they will be treated in the same way as an adult.
A young person of 17 will be treated in exactly the same way as an adult.

[Buenchico]

The important part of the Tameside quote (kindly provided by Rocky) is this bit:
"A child under fourteen will not be considered in charge of the dog, instead the offence will be deemed to have been caused by the habitual owner who has failed to ensure that a responsible person is in charge of the dog".

What the law actually says is this:
"If a dog defecates at any time on designated land and a person who is in charge of the dog at that time fails to remove the faeces from the land forthwith, that person shall be guilty of an offence . . ."
AND
"For the purposes of this section . . . a person who habitually has a dog in his possession shall be taken to be in charge of the dog at any time unless at that time some other person is in charge of the dog
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/20

Tameside Council have taken the view (which I think a court would concur with) that a child under 14 isn't legally 'in charge' of the dog; the owner remains responsible for the animal. Therefore they CAN issue an FPN to the parent (or other owner) of the dog and, if the owner does not accept the FPN and pay it, pursue a criminal prosecution through the courts.

Chris

[DaisyNonna]

Is it a bit like driving a car?