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Changes to dog fouling fines
From 1 October 2012 'The Fouling of Land by Dogs (Belfast City Council) Order 2012' will become law in the Belfast City Council area, which means the fine for allowing a dog to foul will increase to £80.
- The Fouling of Land by Dogs Order 2012 (Word - 42KB)
The Clean Neighbourhoods Act and Environment Act (NI) 2011 gives us the power to create this order.
We consulted with the public on the introduction of this order, and our proposals were strongly supported.
This order will cover the entire Belfast City Council area, including all parks and open spaces. The order will not apply to land owned by Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (normally forestry lands).
- Map of the area affected (PDF - 4MB)
If you are caught allowing your dog to foul you will receive an £80 fine which you must pay this within 14 days from the date of issue. However, if you pay the fixed penalty notice within 10 days from the date of issue there is a concession for prompt payment which is £50.
More information on paying fixed penalties.
Our reasons for proposing this increase include:
- bringing the fine for dog fouling in line with the fine for other types of littering. We currently spend £11 million cleaning the streets of Belfast, and dog mess accounts for a substantial amount of street litter.
- our research from previous campaigns to tackle dog fouling and littering shows that residents feel the best way to change behaviour is to fine offenders.
- dog mess is dangerous and unhygienic, it contains bacteria that can cause stomach upset. Toxocariasis is an infection spread from animals to humans via their infected faeces; it's particularly hazardous to small children as their immune systems are not fully developed, and it can result in blindness.
