The Kennel Club, has welcomed the move by Wyre Forest council to change a local public spaces protection order (PSPO) and increase the number of dogs that can be walked by one dog-walker from three to six.
The Kennel Club worked closely with local campaigners throughout the last six months and provided the council with various reasons on why limiting the number of dogs can be unproductive. The Wyre Forest council highlighted how instrumental The Kennel Club had been in its decision, thanks to the views provided in order to protect the rights of dog owners.
Dr Ed Hayes, Head of Public Affairs at The Kennel Club, commented: “We welcome the decision by Wyre Forest council to increase the number of dogs a person can walk and thank the councillors for taking our views into consideration.
“The maximum number of dogs a person can walk in a controlled manner depends on a number of factors relating to the dog walker and the dogs being walked as well as the location or time of the walk and therefore we don’t believe introducing blanket limits on the number of dogs walked is the best solution. Furthermore, placing a limit on the number of dogs a person can walk risks penalising responsible dog owners simply due to the number of dogs they own, rather than their ability to keep their dogs under control.
“The Kennel Club would recommend local authorities instead use “dogs on lead by direction” orders and targeted measures such as acceptable behaviour contracts and community protection orders to address people who don’t have control of the dogs they are walking.”
There is further advice for dog owners facing access issues on campaigns section of The Kennel Club website.