Dog owners who allow their dogs to foul in the street without cleaning up after them will be fined up to £200 in Ards and North Down Borough under new rules introduced by the council.
And they will face another similar fine if they are found to have their dog off lead in designated areas where the council has ruled dogs should be walked on leads only.
Ards and North Down Council have ramped up their fines for general littering, dog fouling and failing to leash a dog, with new penalties reaching two and a half times the current penalty.
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Elected members signed off its Environment Committee decision to raise maximum fines for dog owners from £80 to £200, and the reduced rate from £80 to £150.
The reduced penalty is given for those who pay within 14 days, and the full fine for a further 14 days, after which the council may bring the matter to the court.
Currently in the borough around 90% of fines are paid within the discount period. The council retains all of the fixed penalty income and describes repeat offenders as ‘rare.’
At the council meeting in Bangor Town Hall, UUP Councillor Richard Smart, who proposed the change, told the chamber: “This will rightly be seen by residents as a much needed crackdown on these offences, which are not only damaging, but are also very antisocial habits.
“It is absolutely right the polluter should pay, whether it be throwing litter out their car window or allowing their dog to foul. The general rate payer should not be paying that expense, and it will be widely welcome that we as a council have embraced the most substantial increase that we can.”
He added: “The ideal is that the council gives out zero fines, because people have seen the error of their ways and habits, but this is unlikely in the short term. The first step in this direction is getting the message out there to the wider community that littering and dog fouling will hit offenders in the pocket like never before.”
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