IRRESPONSIBLE dog owners face tougher controls after new measures have been introduced by council bosses.
The public space protection order (PSPO) was approved by senior councillors last month and is expected to be in place within the next couple of weeks.
Such orders are designed to clamp down on specific antisocial behaviour, such as allowing local authorities to require dogs be kept on leads in certain areas.
“We're aware of conflicting information regarding the new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for dog control.
“The PSPO is now the only legislation to deal with dog fouling and other issues as the previous legislation has expired, which created a need for the PSPO.
“We ran a public consultation from September to October last year, which received more than 1,000 responses from dog owners in the borough about what they wanted the conditions of the PSPO to cover.
“The feedback from the consultation and understanding of the Animal Welfare Act, along with input from the Kennel Club, helped form the draft PSPO, which was passed in cabinet last week.
“The PSPO sets a basic framework of behaviour, which we believe any responsible dog owner would have no problem following.
“Incidents involving dangerous dogs should be reported to South Yorkshire Police.”
