North Devon: Dog walkers limited to six pets at a time

A public consultation found that a majority supported capping the number of dogs being walked to three

Dog walkers in North Devon have been limited to walking six dogs at any one time.

The decision was made by local councillors at their strategy and resources committee on Monday.

A public consultation found that a majority supported capping the number of dogs being walked to three, but councillors were told that six was in line with other authorities.

The move hopes to address anti-social behaviour by irresponsible dog owners.

The meeting also concluded that at least three of the six dogs should be on a lead.

'Less draconian'

Environmental health officer Daryl Littlejohns said they were "taking a pragmatic approach".

"The majority think three dogs is enough, but we think six is less draconian and appropriate after looking at other authorities and best practice.

"Professional dog walkers in the area are quite happy about what we have proposed and are creating an alliance. I thought that was quite encouraging."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said professional dog walkers would be encouraged to sign up to a voluntary code of practice and carry ID, which could be used as a defence if a complaint was made against them.

In addition, new "paw-print" signs will refer to dog control restrictions on council-owned land and will also be available to private landowners.

Dogs will continue to be banned from children's play areas, designated sports pitches, Croyde and Combe Martin beaches between May and September, land used as high tide roosting sites in winter, plus there will be rules around dog-fouling and length of leads.

Officers will also continue to put coloured spray around patches of dog fouling to identify hotspots but said the policy was not to pick it up, it was more a "name and shame" approach.