Hume residents will be fined if their dogs are found off-leash in a public place.
Hume council on Monday, November 13 at its council meeting passed an order under s26 of the Domestic Animals Act 1994, to prohibit dogs from being off-leash in public places for the second time.
The order was originally passed by the council in June 2020, but due to an administrative error, the order was not published in the Victorian Government Gazette or a locally circulated newspaper, rendering the order non-enforceable.
In September, Hume council recognised the error and moved to refund just shy of $10,000 to residents who had been given infringement notices during this time.
Councillors at the time admitted the council was at fault and that it only impacted a relatively small number of individuals.
Councillor Karen Sherry said while dogs are a great part of our lives, this act is necessary to keep them and ourselves safe in public spaces.
“We recognise the importance of dogs, wonderful friends for the health and wellbeing of the community,” she said.
“The report specifies the off-leash areas and what the responsibility is of dog owners in terms of the dog being under active voice control if it is in an off-leash area, as well as cleaning up after your dog.
Gerald Lynch
