Warning as pet owners fined

TWO pet owners have been fined after breaching dog laws.

West Lancashire Borough Council is now warning others to comply or face prosecution.

Martin McMullen, of Colinton, Skelmersdale, was fined £500 as his French bulldog did not have an identity disc while out in public, and fined a further £200 as, although the dog was microchipped, there were no contact details on the national data – base.

He was also told to pay £397.18 costs and an £80 victim surcharge, making a total of £1,177.18.

Wigan Magistrates’ Court heard that Mc – Mullen’s dog was found straying in Skelmersdale and handed to council staff.

Owners can face an unlimited fine if their dog is not wearing an identity disc in public.

It is also a legal requirement for dogs to be microchipped and the owner’s contact details kept up to date.

Failure to comply can result in prosecution and a fine of up to £500 per dog.

Dogs with microchips where the owner does not keep contact details up to date will be deemed not to be microchipped.

In another case, Graham Jones, of Glebe End, Sefton Village, was fined £145, ordered to pay £200 costs and a £30 victim surcharge because his dog was not microchipped – a total of £375.

The court heard that Jones’s Patterdale terrier-type dog was handed into a vets in Aughton as a stray and then referred to the council.

Jones pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a legal notice.