DOG owners have reacted with anger at plans to ban all off lead walking in most of the district’s parks.
Over 1,000 people have signed a petition against Warwick District Council’s proposed changes to current Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) to make rules on dog walking stricter.
Currently, dogs must be kept on leads in certain areas such as Leamington’s Jephson Gardens, all ccemeteries, and parts of Oakley Wood. The ‘Dogs on Leads by Direction’ order is also in place across the district and means people must put their dog on a lead if requested by an authorised officer.
WDC is now considering extending the dogs on lead requirement to the Pump Room Gardens, Victoria Park, Mill Gardens, The Dell, Eagle Recreation Ground, Newbold Comyn cycle tracks and Redland Recreation Ground, all in Leamington. St Nicholas Park and Pageant Gardens, both in Warwick, and Kenilworth Castle Meadow.
Dogs remain prohibited from children’s play areas, paddling pools, tennis courts, and the main racetrack at Warwick Racecourse.
A petition entitled “Stop further unnecessary dog restrictions in Warwick district” has attracted 1,036 signatures and counting.
Dog owner Anna Avino slammed the proposals as a “gross overreach” due to lack of evidence to support them.
She said the number of reported dog-related incidents did not justify the scale of the proposed measures.
A FOI request found 86 incidents in just over six years in all parks listed. Some parks had no recorded incidents at all, including Pump Room Gardens, Pageant House Gardens and Mill Gardens.
Anna said: “Dogs need exercise and that means the occasional run. This is not just a matter of necessary animal welfare, but also prevents unwanted frustrated behaviour that can result when dogs lack adequate exercise.
“Banning all off-lead dog walking across the entire district is ridiculous. You are penalising all dog owners because a handful are irresponsible. What you are proposing by these standards is equivalent to imprisoning all people because a handful are criminals.
“There have been neither the complaints nor is there the support to justify this gross over-reaction. The current PSPOs are working – we don’t need more restrictions.”
WDC’s licensing and regulation committee will meet on June 23 to discuss the changes.
A WDC spokesperson said they were unable to comment further at this stage.
Visit www.change.org/p/stop-further-unnecessary-dog-restrictions-in-warwick-district to view the petition.
