One man's view on Uckfield dog by-laws update

The generally accepted advice is that when you are stuck in a hole, you stop digging.

And that’s what Uckfield town councillors did this week as they considered updating the by-laws relating to the control of dogs on its property, writes Paul Watson.

They gave themselves a month or so to receive detailed information on where the laws would and would not apply and how they might be enforced. See: Uckfield dog by-laws - delay in publishing new rules.

This pause period could be used also to bring the Uckfield dog owners into the conversation. At the moment it is a bit like talking through megaphones but an email or two could solve all that.

Representatives of dog owners were at this week’s council committee meeting which is considering changes to the by-laws. They came up with a detailed document putting forward some positive proposals.

It would be a wise decision by councillors to invite the dog owners’ representative to a meeting of the council’s working group to go through their proposals in detail. There could well be a lot of common ground and the proposals that go to the next meeting of the committee might well be improved by the input of the dog owners.

Clearly, the final decision will rest with our elected councillors – that’s their job but it would be much better to try and move forward with the support of people most affected.

So, Uckfield Town Council, you correctly put the shovel to one side on Monday night. Now, grab the ladder and get out of the hole. You have everything to gain.

Transparency declaration: I do not own a dog but have been bitten twice by dogs. However, I also been scratched and bitten by cats.