Wimbledon and Putney Commons Run Dog Campaign

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The campaign is to raise awareness of responsible dog ownership

Walkers on Putney & Wimbledon Common will notice new banners drawing attention to the Conservators campaign to raise awareness of responsible dog ownership. This is part of an on-going support for the enforcement of the Commons’ Byelaws.

This education campaign will focus on three of the most significant challenges relating to responsible dog ownership on the Commons:

• The responsibility of dog walkers to pick-up after their dogs and dispose of the waste responsibly;
• The responsibility of dog walkers to keep their dogs in sight and under effective control (owners must be able to recall their dogs on command);
• Respect for the limit of no more than four dogs in any one group of walkers.

The campaign will be launched in mid-May 2019 with posters and banners.

The Commons’ Keepers will be taking a pro-active approach to raise awareness of these simple messages, which are supported by the Byelaws. The Conservators also agreed to undertake a consultation exercise over the summer period seeking views on licence terms for the current 25 commercial dog walkers who, at present, are permitted to walk six dogs.

The consultation will take views on potentially placing a limit of four dogs on all dog walkers, commercial or otherwise. The consultation will also take views on potentially requiring all commercial dog walkers on the Commons to be licensed. The Conservators are anxious to stress that they have not yet reached a view on these matters and will therefore consider all responses to the consultation very carefully before proposing any changes to the current policy.

May 17, 2019