Rogue dog walkers have prompted councillors to discuss asking the government to take the lead and regulate the inept, the unsafe and the greedy.
Various concerns about the lack of regulation among the growing number of commercial dog walkers led councillors to call for licensing controls.
Labour councillor Theresa Fowler told Brighton and Hove City Council’s Licensing Committee that any current conditions were voluntary including one limiting them to eight dogs at a time.
The council is responsible for animal licensing, from keeping wild animals to dog breeding, animal day care and pet sales.
Councillor Fowler said that the council should contact the government to seek a change to the law requiring dog walkers to be licensed if the council lacked the necessary power.
She said: “There are quite a lot of dog walkers and they often walk together, two friends walking dogs, eight each.
“Sometimes you’re walking along and you’re met by a pack of 20 or more dogs.
“Is it about time that we licensed dog walkers so that we can keep an eye on how many dogs they’re walking at a particular time?
“Also we’ve had cases where dog walkers have said they’re professional dog walkers and they’re not.
“Then there have been cases where they’ve been kicking the dogs and badly treating the animals.”
The council’s interim head of safer communities Jim Whitelegg said that the dog walking code and the eight-dog limit were voluntary.
He said it was an issue that the animal licensing team was looking at and a report was being drafted to bring to a future committee meeting.
Labour councillor Jackie O’Quinn, who used to chair the Licensing Committee, said that before the covid-19 pandemic she spoke with people involved with the Animal Welfare Act about commercial dog walkers who made money but had no qualifications.
Councillor O’Quinn said: “There are huge concerns about how unregulated this is. I know some authorities have been able to put a limit on numbers. That’s been done in London and, I think, in Worthing as well.
“I try to avoid when I know there are going to be a lot of dog walkers because there are such large numbers of dogs congregated together.
“It’s not a pack of dogs. It’s more like a flock, there are so many of them, with people who can’t always control them.”
Green councillor Steve Davis agreed, saying: “I’m sick to death of my morning run across Waterhall being chased by 400 mutts who are completely out of control.
“This is a good opportunity for this committee to set the agenda on this. There’s been a huge increase in dog ownership since lockdown and covid.”
Labour councillor David McGregor, who chairs the committee, said that the council had asked other local authorities about their approach to licensing.
He said that the council needed to take it further to see what they were licenced for and to explore what route the council could take in the future.
As a runner who uses the South Downs quite regularly I have always found the commercial dog walkers being incredibly courteous and keeping thr dogs under control. It’s some individual owners that require better training.
Labour adding to the cost of living crisis. Commercial dog walkers make money to pay their bills. Reduce the number of dogs they can have, then costs will rise
I find the issue isn’t the number of dogs but the control and understanding of dog behaviour. I have had far more issues with a single owner and their dog than with professionals.
AHH I see you a knee jerk comment maker who fails to actually read.
my wife and a fair number of others she knows have been chased, tripped by dogs on stupidly long leads (both by individual owners and mass dog walkers) and have seen control being lost as dogs break free.
What is the justification for this proposal? Have there been many reported incidents of dogs being out of control and attacking people or other dogs whilst in the hands of commercial dog walkers? Or is this just another example of an unwarranted intervention from an administration of control freaks?
I don’t know and I’m only asking questions but could these dogs be illegal immigrants that have come in by boats to steal the homes of hard working British dog
Your comment is absurd. What are you trying to say? Or is gibberish your default response?
The power of journalism does present a spotlight, but I really agree with you. It’s not something i see any discussion about; rather lots of other issues come to mind.
If we’re considering regulation on a vastly uncontrolled business, let’s focus on the big one with holidays lets.
All seems fair to me , will likely increase prices so the walkers can match income and open up the market as more did walkers will be needed to meet demand . TBH it seems the People that are likely to winge are the dog owners.
i wonder about the disposal of animal waste when it comes to commercial dog walkers. do they have to be registered and have the waste collected privately as using council litter and dog waste bins would surely be illegal disposal of trade waste.
Potholes, blocked drains, unemptied bins, weeds destroying pathways. Do this first! Why does not a single councillor care about these issues?
Fantastic comedy quote from green councillor…. Steve Davis agreed, saying: “I’m sick to death of my morning run across Waterhall being chased by 400 mutts who are completely out of control.
Wow. 400 dogs chasing him. That really deserves a picture or a viral video.
The best comment in a group where councillors seem to be demonstrating they now have little to do with the cabinet system but want to discuss things even when they don’t have many facts or information….
I giggled a bit at the mental image of Councillor Davis being chased down the road with 400 dogs in tow.
It’s not surprising that councillor Davis sees 400 dogs chasing after him. After all he frequently sees hundreds of cyclists when the rest of us can only see a handful.
Lol
There are responsible & irresponsible dog owners & commercial dog-walkers. Dog mess & uncontrolled dogs can be a problem, to people, wildlife & farm animals. We used to have dog licences, which provided a useful record. Licensing commercial dog-walkers should be welcomed by the responsible ones as it would drive out the less responsible, good for dog-owners’ reassurance too.
PS BBC News – New limit rules for dog walkers come into force
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj31gke80v8o