Dog Walking Ban at Rhos Cemetery

[Win]

I don’t think Rhosllanerchrugog Community Council have any option other than to ban dog walkers from the cemetery. How it will be policed on the very popular shortcut it’s become is difficult to see, though.

It’s come to a pretty pass where so-called ‘responsible’ dog owners have so little respect for the funerary rites and memory of others that they allow their mutts to defecate on graves ! There really are some horrible people about.

This isn’t just a Rhos issue … it’s unfortunately become very common in burial grounds all around the UK. Even at Abney Park Cemetery in Tower Hamlets (where, interestingly, Betsi Cadwallader is interred) the trustees are trying to get dog walking banned for this very reason.

[katy]

The councils statement said “There is significant dog fouling all over the cemetery, even on gravestones, with individuals allowing their dogs to come into the cemetery unsupervised, as well as dog walkers not picking up after their dogs, even though there are dog foul bag dispensers at the cemetery.”

So the problem comes from:
1. Roaming dogs
2. Dog walkers allowing their dogs to their business and not picking it up.

Will banning dogs solve the problem?
1. Will roaming dogs see the signs and go somewhere else?
2. Will the dog walkers (the problem ones, who are already happy to ignore the law and allow their dogs to foul without picking it up) obey the request to not walk their dogs through the cemetery?

I think the answer to both of the above is no. The problem is not dogs in the cemetery, the problem is dogs defecating and it not being picked up. We already have something in place to deal with that – a law that says you can’t do it and allows fines of upto £1000 for breaches. Why not just police that rule instead of coming with another rule that has exactly the same level of fines (i assume they would be using a PSPO for this).

But this is a council so they will probably waste a load of money implementing this (ignoring any feedback they get back from the tick-box exercise of a consultation) and it will change nothing.

[Win]

You’re probably right, Katy.

Another problem they’re having at Abney Park Cemetery is that dogs off their leads are digging on graves, as dogs do. Granted there’s more opportunity for dogs to disappear from view there than in an open cemetery like in Rhos, but I do hope it’s not going to become a problem in Rhos too.

[Born Acorn]

Seems a bit pointless to me, it’s like banning criminals from breaking the law.

Better enforcement is the answer, but where does that money come from?

[Councillor X]

Out of respect i thought dogs were banned from cemeteries. I certainly wouln’t take Spot to visit a grave.

[Author]

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