"Everybody has to take greater care": Cyclists react to ban on long dog leads near cycle paths
https://road.cc/content/news/cyclists-react-long-dog-lead-ban-near-cycle-paths-290509From April, Teignbridge District Council will enforce a new public space protection order requiring dogs walkers to use leads shorter than a metre near cycle paths and highways, or face a fine
I have to say I agree with this, not normally a fan of PSPOs. I was nearly garotted by an extensible lead some years ago. There is a recorded court case that said that extensible leads do not count as having a dog under control, unfortunately did not set a legal precedent.
The comments probably coincide with comments else where about untrained "Covid" dogs.
It will be interesting to see if it is any more enforceable than the existing law that dogs must be under control on a public right of way.
Would you say a working dog like a sheep dog or a police dog is “under control?” Of course they are but they are not on a lead.
If a dog is trained properly then they don’t need to be on a lead to be under control. Current regulations say that a dog should be under control; it does not say that a dog should be on a lead because they are two different things. This is one of those misconceptions many of the public have, another being a misunderstanding of the term Right of Way.
The last two dogs I had (from the same litter and loving from 1995 to2009 and 2010) thought it was a special treat to be put on their leads. They were rarely on leads and didn’t need to be.
By the way, I was also a cyclist for many years until my glaucoma made me give it up. As a cyclist I never had a problem with dogs, mine or anybody else’s.
I think this order, if it is as suggested above that dogs must be on leads, could probably be seen as an extension of the law and would fail f challenged in Court.
