Is Plymouth Council serious about enforcing dog controls in the city?

Since the introduction of Plymouth’s Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for dog control in October 2023, enforcement has been minimal - especially for failing to pick up poo.

The PSPO imposes restrictions on dog owners, including limits on the number of dogs that can be walked at once and requirements to pick up after their pets. However, the latest data suggests breaches largely go unpunished.

Plymouth Council confirmed that no staff are exclusively employed to enforce the PSPO, with responsibility shared among six officers handling wider environmental offences. There are 2 Environmental Enforcement Officers roles who carry out patrols for dog, and other environmental, offences, and 4 other staff who may also undertake investigations for dog offences along with other duties.

In the last 15 months, just 46 penalty notices were served across the city council area, 35 of which were for failing to keep dogs on leads.

Failing to remove dog mess accounted for just six penalties, while not carrying equipment to clean up after a pet resulted in no fines at all! Allowing dogs into restricted areas led to two penalties, while there were 3 penalties for those refusing to leash their dog when ordered by an officer.

No fines were issued for walking more than six dogs at once.

(The information in this report comes from a Freedom of Information request made by The Beagle to Plymouth City Council.)