Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) held a dog fouling awareness day on Thursday, July 25, to reinforce the message for dog walkers to pick their dogs mess up. 

This is part of the collaborative work with Town and Community Councils through the Give Dog Fouling the Red Card project, which has been ongoing for a number of years.

The day's focus was in the south of the county, where officers discussed ongoing fouling concerns with dog walkers. They focused on fouling hot spots in Chepstow - Riverside and Bulwark, Rogiet - near the Primary School, the playing fields, Country Park, and Caerwent Meadows.

This was also an opportunity for officers to raise awareness of the MCC (Dog Control) Public Spaces Protection Order 2024 (PSPO) which started on June, 1. 

The PSPO established five provisions to tackle dog fouling and related issues affecting the use and enjoyment of public spaces in the county. It is an offence to contravene any of these restrictions:

1. DOG FOULING: Requires a person in charge of a dog to clean up if the dog defecates on any public space in the county.

2. DOG BAGS: Requires a person in charge of a dog, in any public space in the county, to have an appropriate means (e.g. a dog mess bag) to pick up any faeces deposited by that dog and to show they have bag(s) if requested to do so by an authorised officer.

3. DOG ON LEAD BY DIRECTION: Requires a person in charge of a dog, in any public space in the county, to put the dog on a lead of no more than two metres in length when directed to do so by an authorised officer, where the dog is considered to be out of control or causing alarm or distress or to prevent a nuisance.

4. DOGS ON LEADS AREAS: Specified public spaces, identified through consultation, where a dog needs to be kept on a lead of no more than two metres in length. There are 20 listed in the PSPO, and they are identified by location plans.

5. DOG EXCLUSION AREAS: Specified public spaces where dogs are excluded. There are 180 listed in the PSPO and are identified by location plans. These have been identified through consultation as requiring further protection from dog fouling because of the main use of the area. These are predominantly marked sports pitches, children's play areas, school and leisure centre grounds.

Full details of the PSPO can be found at: https://www.monmouthshire.gov.uk/public-spaces-protection-order-2024-dog-control/.  Monmouthshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Equalities and Engagement, Cllr Angela Sandles, said, "We are so fortunate to have the amazing public spaces available to us in Monmouthshire which are so attractive to our residents, businesses and tourists.

“These spaces support good dog ownership, and it's clear that the vast majority of us pick up our dog mess. However, there remain some areas where fouling is unfortunately still an issue. Please do the right thing and 'bag it, bin it', and please be aware of the county's dogs on leads/exclusion areas."