It is the responsibility of the dog owner or the person in charge of the dog to clear up any dog foul left by their dog. A fixed penalty notice of £75 will be issued to those who fail to clean up after their dog. Failure to accept or pay a fixed penalty notice will result in prosecution action through the magistrates court, which carries a penalty of £1000. Being unaware that the dog has fouled, or not having suitable means of removing the faeces or nowhere to dispose of them is not a reasonable excuse for failing to clean up after a dog.
Those dog owners that bag the mess but don't bin it (for example they dispose of the bag in a hedge, a tree or a garden) could face an additional offence for littering, which carries a separate maximum court penalty of £2,500.
All dogs must be kept under control at all times to minimise the risk of accidents. An Order is in place requiring that on certain specified land dogs should be on a lead at all times. This Order applies to all footpaths and verges adjacent to carriageways within the Leeds City Council district. This is to prevent dogs running into the road which can cause traffic accidents. We have a range of powers to take action against irresponsible dog owners. These are known as Dog Control Orders, failure to comply with any of the orders will result in penalties as mentioned. Further explanation of these orders are given in the responsible dog ownership leaflet. Also, the Dog Control Orders land schedule lists names of sites where the orders apply (see downloads below).
Report it
You can report dog fouling in Leeds to our Environmental Action Service by telephone 0113 222 4406 or use the contact form on the bottom of this page providing your details and location of the waste.
Lost, Found and Stray dogs
It is an offence for a dog to be in a public place without a collar and tag with the owners name and address on it - this includes when a person is in charge of the dog. If your dog does not have a collar and tag you can be prosecuted and a fined up to £5,000.
An unattended dog in a public place is a stray dog.
To report a lost, stray or found dog ring 0113 222 4407 - Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm. You can leave a message after this time but it will not be processed until the next working day.
Dog wardens collect stray dogs and take them to kennels (see downloads below).
Found dogs will be kept by the council for 7 days and then, if not collected they will become the responsibility of the kennels.
This service does not operate on a weekend or Bank Holidays
Outside these times you can take a found dog to the kennels – see downloads below for details
The wardens try to reunite dogs and owners as soon as possible.
Dangerous dogs
It is an offence to allow a dog in your care to behave in an aggressive manner. A dog does not have to bite someone to be deemed dangerous. If you are found guilty you can receive a fine of up to £5,000 and/or six months in prison
Please do not take a stray/roaming dog to your local police station as they will not take it in. The police will only deal with dogs under the following circumstances
• If the dog has bitten a person or is likely to bite
• If the dog is a suspected banned breed for example a pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, fila braziliero or dogo argentino.
If you are aware of a dangerous dog please call the Police and contact us on 0113 222 4407.
Dead pets
If you have reported your lost dog to us, you may also check the dead animals register and see if we have picked up your pet. This register is updated on a regular basis. It can be accessed on the downloads tab below.
