‘Tell us where problems are’, pleads dog warden

A district dog warden has urged Swaffham residents to get in touch if they see incidents of dog fouling in the town.

The plea was made during a presentation to town councillors, one of whom said it remained a high priority for residents, during a meeting on Tuesday night.

Two dog wardens are employed on behalf of Breckland Council to cover the whole district and are responsible for issues relating to fouling, as well as stray and abandoned dogs.

And one of them, Mike Gardiner, admitted “it’s he who shouts loudest” when it comes to deploying resources.

He told members: “If you’re getting people complaining to you, ask them if they’ve called the dog warden.

“If we get the people who witness it to call in, we can talk to them, work with them and they feel that something is happening.

“We do take it seriously and we do our best to crack down on it.”

The meeting was told that, of 23 calls to the dog wardens across the Breckland district since the start of this year, only two were from Swaffham.

However, Mr Gardiner stressed that the number of cases in Breckland was lower than in other parts of the county.

He explained that, in law, an offence is only committed if an owner does not make a reasonable attempt to clear up after a dog, rather than the physical act of a dog fouling.

But, answering a question from Sheila Lister, he said the council would need to obtain a public spaces protection order if they wanted to keep dogs off particular areas, such as the recreation ground.

However, Jan Buckley-Stevens maintained most pet owners do clear up after their dogs and suggested an owners’ group could be formed to help address any problems.

Anyone who wants to report an incident of dog fouling can phone Animal Warden Services on 01362 858500 or fill in an online report form on the council’s website, www.breckland.gov.uk