Dog walkers go to battle over ban on them letting pets off the lead in parks: Team GB star leads livid backlash in opposition to ‘Asbos for canine’
Dog walkers are fuming after finding out a London borough is dreaming up new rules that could stop their pets roaming freely in parks.
Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman, who has made headlines in the past for his spats with the Labour party, is overseeing the enforcement of the government’s ‘Asbos for dogs’ policy.
Known officially as the Public Spaces Protection Orders, the regulations have already been implemented across the country. However, Tower Hamlets is an oddity by failing to specify which areas dogs are allowed to roam leadless.
It is this greyness in the rules which has now left open the possibility that the borough’s biggest green spaces, such as Victoria Park, could now become no-go areas for dogs.
The council claim that these clampdowns are warranted due to an increase in violent dog attacks in the borough alongside a rise in reported dog fouling.
However, these justifications are not reason alone to place a blanket ban on off-leash dogs in parks, local residents have argued.
One such livid Tower Hamlets local is Team GB star Scarlett Mew Jensen, who won a bronze medal in diving at last summer’s Paris Olympics.
The proud owner of black labrador Olive, Jensen has claimed that her energetic canine companion would not be the same dog if mayor Rahman institutes a borough-wide ban on leadless dogs in parks.
Tower Hamlets resident and Team GB star Scarlett Mew Jensen, who won a bronze medal in diving at last summer’s Paris Olympics, is the proud owner of black labrador Olive
The Olympic diver is one of the borough’s enraged local residents who have been left anxiously waiting to see just how Tower Hamlets council will enforce its new dog walking rules
‘If she’s not able to get off the lead, she’s not able to be a dog. That adjustment would be really hard’, Jensen told the Times.
‘She has to run from time to time or she’s not herself’, the Olympian added.
Jensen also shared that if she’d known she wouldn’t be allowed to let her dog off the lead and run freely with her in the park, then she would have never gotten Olive in the first place.
‘This is my home,’ the Tower Hamlets-born Olympian said. ‘Going to Victoria Park, in a buggy, on a bike, seeing the dogs having fun, enjoying their freedom, those are my memories’.
Other locals have also voiced their concern over the council’s ruling, with one Sunday morning dog walker arguing: ‘I understand that it has to be a park for everybody, and that means people that don’t like dogs, but it also has to be a park for everybody, including those that like dogs — and dogs, too, who need the exercise’.
Reacting to the pushback over its enforcement of the ‘Asbos for dogs’ policy, Tower Hamlets council have cited data which suggests there were 108 dog attack penalties issued in the area in 2023-24.
Although, objecting locals have pointed out that this data mainly features the notorious XL Bully breed which has been under a nationwide ban since the start of 2024.
The current proposal put forward by the council sees dogs banned from ‘all gated play parks and sports areas’ and kept on leads in ‘all public spaces in the borough’, with the exception of yet-to-be defined areas in open space.
Victoria Park dog walkers have voiced their collective concern over Tower Hamlets council’s proposed dog walking restrictions
Lutfur Rahman was a Labour leader of Tower Hamlets council, but later became mayor as an independent in 2010. But his re-election in 2014 was ruled null and void by the Electoral Commission which found him guilty of electoral fraud. He returned to the mayoralty in 2022
In addition to these rules, dog walkers would also be prevented from walking more than four dogs at a time.
Tower Hamlets council have so far refused to be drawn on whether green spaces such as Victoria Park would be included in these restrictions.
Another issue of contention with the proposed dog law changes is Tower Hamlets council’s plan to hire an additional 31 enforcement officers across the borough whose roles will include policing any pet owners in breach of the new lead rules.
This would increase the number of enforcement officers in the borough by almost double, seeing a total of 64 officers employed at a starting salary of at least £55,698.
In stark contrast, a new Met Police hire can expect to earn nearly £20,000 less, with a starting salary of just £38,269. The council has so far failed to explain this disparity in wages.
Enforcement officers will be able to issue those in breach of the new legislation with a public space protection order (similar to an Asbo).
A spokesman from Tower Hamlets council said: ‘We welcome responsible dog owners in Tower Hamlets and appreciate that the majority want to enjoy a walk with their best friend in one of the borough’s award-winning parks and open spaces.
‘However, there are a small number who ruin this for everyone, with out-of-control dogs and dog fouling causing issues, as they do in all London boroughs. We want to make sure our parks and open spaces are inclusive to everyone, which is why we carried out a consultation to see if residents want controls brought in, what controls they would like to see, and where they want them to be enforced.
‘Currently, 22 out of 32 London local authorities employ dog control legislation to varying degrees. The consultation is being analysed and will be published at cabinet in due course’.
