Dog attack leads to owner being fined £800

A dog owner has been fined after her pets attacked other dogs on a public footpath in Maple Cross.

Heidi Woodward of Church Lane, Sarratt, was ordered to pay a total of £800 by magistrates on 27 September for breaching a Community Protection Notice (CPN) which had been issued by Three Rivers District Council.

The CPN prohibited her from allowing her dogs to have unsupervised access to the public footpaths that run through Woodoaks Farm, and prohibited her from allowing her dogs to intimidate or injure other users of the public footpaths or their dogs.

In November 2020 her dogs were unsupervised with access to the public footpaths on the farm and whilst unsupervised they attacked other dogs being walked there. The dogs involved were two Dobermans and at the time of the incident, Ms Woodward was not present and so was in breach of the CPN.

Cllr Phil Williams, Lead Member for Environmental Services, Climate Change and Sustainability said: “Hopefully, this will act as a reminder to dog owners to ensure that their pets are kept under control, and do not pose a risk to other people or animals using our public spaces, we will not hesitate to prosecute those who fail to comply.”

A Community Protection Notice (CPN) is issued under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and used to control all types of anti-social behaviour, including that from animals, which causes alarm or distress to those in the locality.