CRACKDOWN UN-LEASHED ON ROGUE PET OWNERS
GOLD Coast City Council will continue its blitz on “irresponsible” dog owners at beaches and parks this weekend.
Police and council officers fined 23 owners last weekend. Two-thirds of the fines were issued for dogs not being on a leash and eight for unregistered pets.
At Palm Beach, a council officer used a scanner to check if dogs had a microchip.
So far this year the council has handed out 566 dogrelated fines, 162 of them for pooches being unregistered.
The council’s Lifestyle and Community Committee Chair councillor Hermann Vorster said the council was going after irresponsible pet owners.
“We know we are a dog-loving city but not everybody is doing the right thing by their animals and neighbours,” he said.
“We have a fantastic network of boardwalks and footpaths but a lot of people feel particularly uncomfortable when they are rushed by dogs.”
He said the council received a lot of complaints about dogs being off-leash.
“It really is an issue right across the Gold Coast, particularly in our parks,” Cr Vorster said. Dog off-leash, $126; owner not carrying two bags for droppings, $63; not picking up droppings, $63; pet wandering outside of owner’s property, $126; pet not microchipped, $252; dog’s registration not displayed, $252; registration not renewed, $252; unregistered dog, $252.