Why Cemeteries and Play Areas Need Dog Control Orders

by Neil Burton 

Certain dog organisations and some sections of the canine media talk of councils using dog control orders as if it is some form of state sponsored ethnic cleansing designed to make life difficult for dog owners.

What these organisations should really consider is why a dog owner would want to take a dog in to a cemetery or a children’s play area?  Dogs truly are members of the family but there has to be some scope on whether it is acceptable to take a dog to a certain location and whether it needs to be kept under control whilst there?

In the case of dogs being walked through cemeteries, if they are on leads fine, if dogs are excluded from a cemetery what about a person with a dog wanting to visit the final resting place of a friend or relative?  What is surely unacceptable are those dog owners who let the dog off the lead to run across graves, urinate on gravestones and even foul in the cemetery, this really does occur.   Surely this must be seen to be a disrespectful act on the part of the dog owner, the dog knows no different, the person at rest is not affected but relatives and other cemetery users may be.

Another issue is dogs being taken into children’s play areas the sort with swings and see-saws, surely there is a risk to the dog as well from the equipment being used by a child?

As I have written previously, not all people like dogs and the slightest dog related problem such as a dog owner or owners not clearing up after their dogs in a specific area may result in a dog control order under the Clean Neighbourhoods Act 2005.  If a minority of people are spoiling things for the majority both dog owners and non owners, why should ‘the council’ be pilloried for trying to promote a responsible approach to a problem for the benefit of all people?

A lot of the current opponents of dog control orders had the opportunity to challenge what was being proposed but chose not to.  Ironically the National Dog Warden Association did oppose dog control orders, but it is members of the NDWA working in dog control that have to enforce such orders!  

Highly Recommended: This could be the most important link you EVER click as far as your dog’s life is concerned – see why….!

Tags:  Social Issues