Dog mess patrols at Portelet
SPECIAL constables will increase their presence at Portelet following complaints about dog mess and owners failing to keep their pets under control.
A spokesman for Agriculture, Countryside and Land Management Services – the States body responsible for beaches – said such offences were difficult to police and they would welcome the public’s help to do it.
‘The majority of dog owners follow the law, however there are a few that don’t and these people cause issues for law-abiding dog owners and the wider community,’ he said.
‘Under the Control of Dogs ordinance, dog owners must be in control of their dogs at all times and this includes picking up any dog litter and disposing of it in a public bin. It’s illegal not to do so.’
Members of the Portelet Moorings Committee spoke recently of bags of dog poo being left around the beach and even thrown in to people’s boats.
A man who wrote to the Guernsey Press said his young grandchild had been knocked over by a loose dog and when he confronted the owner he was told he should not have taken the child ‘to a dog beach’.
‘The difficulty with these offences is proof and identification of the perpetrator,’ said the spokesman.
A review of the law was yet to take place due to limited resources and other legislative priority areas of work taking precedence.
Four ACLMS staff are special constables which permitted them to issue fixed penalty notices.
‘We would welcome a collaborative and proactive approach from members of the community to identifying anyone breaching the Control of Dogs Ordinance,’ said the spokesman.
‘This would support the work our small team carries out to patrol areas where there are known to be specific issues.
‘Public feedback helps with this and, in this case of Portelet, we will increase our presence there as a result of the recent reports. This will hopefully help act as a deterrent.
'Where identification of offenders can be proven, reports are passed onto the police for action but as stated this is a difficult area for enforcement so a community effort is needed.
‘We receive complaints from time to time and use reports to inform where we patrol.
‘In regards specifically to Portelet, this year we have had one report brought to us by a member of the public and an additional one brought to us by the Guernsey Press.’
ACLMS did not hold data on how many people had been prosecuted for failing to pick up after their dogs. Guernsey Police said nobody had been in the past four years.
Torteval Constable and Moorings Committee member, Sue Aldwell said she was delighted that ACLMS was seeking to address concerns.
