Are you a dog owner? Due to the number of dog fouling instances in the estate, which are public health hazards, and loose/unmuzzled dogs, we’d like to bring the following information from Westmeath County Council’s control of animals webpage to your attention.
Dog owners responsibilities:
- A person in charge of a dog must clean up when the dog fouls in a public place. Owners who fail to do so are liable to an ‘on-the-spot’ of €150
- Keep their dog/s under control in a public place.
- Dogs must wear a collar and tag bearing the name and address of the owner.
- Certain breeds of potentially dangerous dogs must be kept on a short strong leash and muzzled whenever they are in a public place.
Licensing:
If you have a dog over 4 months old, you must have a licence for it and the person to whom the licence is issued must be over 16 years of age.
A dog licence may be purchased online or at any Post Office.
If you do not have a licence for your dog, you are liable to a €30.00 on-the-spot fine.
Failure to pay this fine can lead to a prosecution with a maximum fine of €1,270.00 and/or up to 3 months imprisonment if convicted.
Breeds of dog to which certain regulations apply under the Control of Dogs Act:
- American Pit Bull Terrier
- Bulldog
- Bull Mastiff
- Dobermann Pinscher
- English Bull Terrier
- German Shepherd (Alsatian)
- Japanese Akita
- Japanese Tosa
- Rhodesian Ridgeback
- Rottweiler
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- Every dog of the type commonly known as a Ban Dog (or Bandog) and to every other strain or cross of every breed or type of dog described above.
Link to Westmeath County Council’s control of dogs webpage
An Post’s dog licensing webpage