Following a case in court last week where a person was fined £300 for not having a valid dog licence, the Environment Agency has issued statistics on its efforts to combat dog fouling.

So far this year, the Environment Agency has carried out 32 targeted dog patrols.  Sixty-eight persons have been stopped, and 83 dogs checked.  A total of 148 DNA samples have been collected, resulting in 20 fixed penalty notices being issued for dog fouling, one being issued for no registration and three for having no licence.

In addition, since January, the Environmental Protection Officers of the Department of the Environment have carried out 24 dog patrols, stopped 36 persons and reported six owners for breaches of the law.

Minister John Cortes said, ‘Our efforts to reduce the frequency of dog fouling are beginning to produce real results. Of course, there are still some people who allow their pets to foul our pavements but, slowly but surely, I believe that we are winning the war against the persistent offenders.’