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Pet Owners

Scotland councillor eyes dog ban in parks

Isobel Davidson, a Liberal Democrat councillor wants dogs to be band from areas frequented by children amidst fears that their faeces could spread diseases.

She has been backed by a number of community councils who say there is a “significant” risk with dog excrement and young children.

Davidson said: “I want to be very specific, this isn’t about all parks – just schools and play parks. I’m keen for the council to share its policy because it will be useful for both councillors and dog owners to know.

“There are plenty of parks that they will still be able to go to. This won’t make a difference for some people, but some people are irresponsible dog owners. Dog waste is harmful to both children and adults, and when kids are coming home covered in it from just playing at the park it isn’t reasonable.”

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Aberdeenshire council looked into banning dogs from communal areas frequented by children in 2014 but found it difficult to implement a ban.

Stephen Archer, director of infrastructure services at Aberdeenshire council said: “Restricting dogs in these areas was considered, but on reflection it was felt that banning dogs was not necessarily the best or most appropriate action.

“There may be some campuses with ‘no dog fouling’ signs, but this is ad hoc and there is no policy direction on this. The service has a policy of ‘open-access’ to its campuses and it would be extremely difficult to enforce any policy on banning dogs from certain areas.”

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