A woman from Trecenydd has been ordered to pay £500 by magistrates for letting her dog foul and then failing to pick it up.
Rebecca Birnie, 23, of Third Avenue, was fined £400 and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £15 and costs of £85 under sections three and four of the Dogs (Fouling Of Land) Act 1996.
After non-payment of the original council-issued £75 fine, the matter was pursued through the courts by Caerphilly County Borough Council and was heard in Caerphilly Magistrates Court on Friday September 7. The defendant did not attend court and the matter was proved in her absence.
Cllr Dave Poole, cabinet member responsible for community and leisure services, said: “The court has sent a strong message to residents who fail to pick up after their dogs, and I applaud the them for doing so. The fine imposed clearly demonstrates the level of disgust that most of us feel towards those who still think it is acceptable to allow their dogs to foul our streets and parks.”
Another disproportionate, heavy handed, draconian,penalty imposed by people who fail to see the that their action heap misery on people who fail to keep up with the system, i.e. pay the original penalty imposed by some job`s worth, I often wonder, if, once witnessed, do these do gooders actually give the dog owner an opportunity to redress the issue and clear up the dog mess? Do they carry disposal bags to give to the culprit, just once, as an example of good management of their pets, probably not.
Much better to prevent such issues entering the already over worked court system, but, that would of course require the fixed penalty issuer, or, the Caerphilly Council senior enforcement staff to actually engage their brains, a very difficult process to get their heads around I suspect.
Sorry if you cant pay the fine dont do the crime!
I always clean up after my dog, there's nothing worse than walking into someone else's dog mess.
Why should the enforcement offices carry disposal bags? Its the owners responsibility to clean up, and the size of this fine hopefully sends a clear message to all dog owners to be a responsible citizen!!
I completely agree with 'Dog Owner' in that we should ALL behave responsibly. Not only was the offence committed but the offender refused to acknowledge the legal process. 'Draconian'? No, just adhere to common sense, respect the law and enjoy life. If the sentence appears harsh, tough. Listen, learn and learn how to behave properly.
Why should the enforcement offices carry disposal bags?
Simple; To prevent irresponsable dog owners being criminalised, and to give everyone a second opportunity to abide with the bylaws, with just a little gentle `nudge` rather than being set upon and turned into an `example` through the criminal courts.
And, if any elected Councillor disagrees with this, and is happy to see a normally law abiding citizen turned into a criminal just so that an example can be made of them then they dont deserve to hold public office, and, they should hang their heads in shame for supporting such a system which fails to see that such draconian penalties are just that, draconian, and have no place in todays more tolerant society. It is about time this hang em and flog em Council mentality is shown to be what it is, unreasonable, and, I am sure it wont be long before someone appeals to a Judge against such disproportionate, unsustainable, and unjust sentences. And, I wonder if it actually infringes a persons human rights to proper justice.
@Arthur
the original £75 fine is the same fine for littering as dog mess is a bio hazard not only should she be fined but the fine should be higher.
as for carrying around disposal bags every dog owner knows that if you don't clean it up you get a fine if they take the dog out and don't have any that is negligent on the'er part
(and yes i am a dog owner)
It is disappointing to see Geriant, someone who normally expresses himself in more reasonable terms than he does in his comments on this subject,to suggest that anyone who owns a dog, and who`s dog fouls in a public place, and that owner does not clean it up, should be fined more than £500 is a socially distorted view, it is also an extremmly distorted view in the scheme of the Legal system, which purports to being seen to be applied without fear or favour.
A drunk driver, who can kill someone due to their behaviour, will be fined on average £180. not £500, A drunk driver who does ACTUALLY kill someone may not be fined at all, if their financial curcumstances prevent them the `means` to pay one and at which time alternative penalties like extensions to a driving ban or community service can be imposed, not a £500 fine.
A house burglar gets an average £80 fine, or no fine at all, £5.00 less than a littering fine. And, if you fiddle and steal state benefits a community penalty is normally the order of the day, not a £500 fine.
So, to support the draconian actions of Caerphilly Council, and their local friendly Magistrates ( often serving Councillors who should declare an interest)Geniant is really showing his hang em and flog em credentials, and his perverse judgement in the unfairness or fairness of the justice system, certainly as it is being applied in local Caerphilly County area Magistrates courts.
I also hold the view that a Crown Court Judge, to whom this dog owner may appeal, against this ` fine`, would take a much more reasonable and pragmatic, and, justifiable view, and, dramatically reduce it in line with his conscience.
Every New Years day I and my dog are subject to the foul smelling and disgraceful deposits left by the owners of horses and the hunt dog pack, who congregate in the Castle Grounds Caerphilly before they go hunting down and in some cases ripping apart defenceless wildlife. I am offended by this and would hope Caerphilly Council enforcement officers are this year on hand to hand out fines to the irresponsible hunting dog pack owners who`s dogs leave foul deposits on the footpaths of the Castle Grounds, I for one will be watching to see that Geraint`s Labour Caerphilly Council ensures that fair play and equality is applied in respect to the issues of dog mess and irresponsible owners, and the huntin` and shootin` brigade have the same draconian bylaws applied against them , no-one can argue with this view, can they?????
For Arthur: Got any children?….dog owner are we?…kids have been blinded because of irresponsible lazy dog owners so next time you want to publish nonsense about the fine being "disproportionate, unsustainable, and unjust " then dont!
This sort of fine doesn't lead to a criminal record in this instance so wind your head in! Just huge embarrassment and shame for the owner which they can quickly get over!
More fines I say especially for those owners who allow their dogs to foul around schools and parks!
Dear Sir,This Lady should have payed the fine.Dont peole know that young children can loose thier eyesight if they touch its a health risk its not the dogs fault but the owners.
David Smith ( Dog owner)
@auther
i never said the fine should be over 500 i said it should be more than 75 the fine for littering becose its a biohazard.
and anyone who refuses to pay a fine that they have got threw their own actions deserves what they get. you canot brake the law and not pay the concupiscence's
For the record, I have never said the dog owner should not clean up after her pet which had fouled in a public place, on the contrary, I think that this young lady should have been ordered by the court to community service, cleaning up other irresponsible pet owners mess where ever that may be in the borough. A week of doing so and she would soon get the message, that her irresponsible behaviour was unacceptable and that the message is all dog owners have to act responsibly in this regard.
My views do not detract from the fact that the fine in this case is way over the top and unacceptable, in fact, it is stupid in relation to proportionality within the criminal courts sentencing system, and whatever view is expressed by senior Councillors who are ` rolled out` to give a statement every time such a stupid unsustainable sentence is passed by local magistrates in relation to a bylaw fixed penalty ticket, issued by some jobs worth who applies the `rules` indiscriminately, depending on the weather probably, or his or her place in the pecking order of the `numbers of tickets issued league` is politically unacceptable.
The Justice system in Caerphilly borough, the fairness and equality of that system and its impartiality are being drawn into question in respect to the different view the Justices take against a culprit when that person may have offended against a Caerphilly council dictate, and that is wholly wrong.
Let see a few fines issued next New Years day, or lets ensure the owners of the hunting dog pack who will let their dogs loose in the Castle Grounds, to foul the footpaths wherever they choose clean up the mess after their trained killing machines.
As a side note.
Ive not been home long from watching the cycle race finish in Crescent Road. As I walked along the path that leads from Crescent Road to the bridge that crosses the moat some inconsiderate dog owner had let their dog 'poop' in the middle of this path. Guess who walked straight into it? Grrr!
Gives visitors a great impression of our town…NOT!
Paul. I stand by and repeat every single word I has said on this subject.
You are wrong: Any fine imposed by a magistrates Court is a registered criminal offence, the offence in this case being not paying a Fixed Penalty Ticket. That ` offence` is registered against the offender, and indeed if this lady fails to pay the Magistrates fine she can be sent to prison, she cannot however be imprisoned for failing to clean up after her dog. So all in all the entire process is perverse and unjust, and certainly, without any doubt whatsoever disproportionate.
In my view the young lady should refuse to pay this draconian penalty, and, claim legal aid to oppose this matter in the Crown court, she would of course automatically be awarded legal aid because to not pay the fine is an imprisonable offence.
Finally, the courts are not in the business of administering justice to apply, in Paul`s words, "Just huge embarrassment and shame". they are there to ensure a fair and equitable application of the law. In this case they have not done that, they have brought ridicule to the system of justice in the Caerphilly borough council area.
Me and my wife argue in the winter over who's turn it is to pick it up! The reason being it is nice and warm and keeps the chill away! If your caught not picking it up then as someone said earlier community service poop scooping for the week is the answer!
I think that Dog owners that fail to pick up should be fined every time,there is a problem just up from the lane near Morgan Jones park leading to Trecenydd ,I have seen dog owners on Many occasions fail to pick up their dog mess from the pavement and people's front lawns,I also think that dogs should be on leads but many are not.