An incident where a man was bitten by a dog let off its lead at Gosford Forest Park has led to calls for an assessment on just how effective control measures are within local parks and public spaces.
Officers have been asked to compile a report on ongoing efforts across the borough.
And concerns were raised at Tuesday’s environment committee, specifically over owners letting dogs off their leads around Clare Glen, Gosford Forest Park and the lakes at Craigavon.
The request came from Alderman Paul Berry, after the committee was advised that work was ongoing around updating bylaws across the former Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon council areas.
All three had their own historic bylaws in place and a recent notice of motion, by Ulster Unionist Councillor Kate Evans, urged work to be carried out around harmonisation, 10 years after the amalgamation of the three to form one of Northern Ireland’s 11 ’super-councils’.
The Independent Unionist representative said he was aware of the dangers and flagged the practice of owners allowing their dogs free in some populated areas.
“I spoke to a man on Friday evening who got bit last year as a result of a dog off a lead and the owner didn’t really seem to care,” said Alderman Berry.
“I would like to know how proactive our dog wardens are in relation to these public spaces to make it safe for everybody, because if a child was bit by a dog this would leave this council in very bad light.”
The Cusher representative asked for a report to detail “what we’ve done to date, what fines have been handed out and how often do we monitor these sites”.
Ulster Unionist Councillor Kate Evans agreed, and said this was happening “all the time”.
“My own dog has been bit by walking around the lakes and unfortunately it comes down to responsible dog owners and they’re not. They’re just irresponsible. They won’t even pick up after their dogs and it’s disgusting,” she said.
“No matter what we do in this council, it will all come down to the dog owner being responsible.”
TUV Councillor Keith Ratcliffe also endorsed calls for the information to be brought back.
“Owners of dogs obviously have a responsibility. It’s isn’t the dog’s fault,” he said. “Unfortunately there’s some owners that don’t take responsibility for their dogs, but most people do take responsibility to keep them safe, but I think it’s vitally important again that we try everything in our powers to alleviate any issues going forward.”
