Dog Fouling
Online Service
Investigations into dog fouling
It is an offence for anyone to fail to pick up their dog(s) faeces straightaway from land in the open air in Poole where the public are entitled or permitted to have access with or without payment. Environmental & Consumer Protection Services can take legal enforcement 
action against dog owners where an offence is witnessed. We can issue a Fixed Penalty Notice . For the sake of the environment and other peoples' health please pick up your dog's faeces or dispose of them in dog or litter bins.
What to do if you witness dog fouling
Please use our online report. In order for Environmental & Consumer Protection Services to take action against dog fouling offenders, we need to witness the dog owner not pick up their dogs faeces and be able to identify them.
Alternatively, if you witness an offence and we can identify the offender then we may be able to take action should you provide a witness statement for the courts. Should you witness an offence please give us as much information as you can about the offender so that we can identify them or arrange for officers to be in attendance should they repeat the offence.
It is not possible for us to take action against children under 17 years old through the courts.
You must keep an eye on your dog at all times and be willing to clean up after it as not knowing it has fouled is not a reasonable excuse.
Poop scoop areas
Since 20th July 2006 any land in Poole in the open air where the public are permitted or entitled access is a poop scoop area. So if your dog fouls Council or private land that you are entitled to enter, and even if you pay for access, you must remove your dog faeces - bag it and bin it.
Illness caused by dog fouling
Dog faeces may contain worms that can cause serious eye disorders in adults and children. Toxocara canis is a roundworm which is carried by unwormed dogs which are deposited in the soil from the faeces. Although illnesses related to toxocara infection are rare but it could be one incident is one too many.
Contact Environmental &Consumer Protection Services to report an area continually subjected to dog fouling.
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