DOGS around the pond on Petersfield's Heath are posing a major threat to the health of children claimed an Angling Club water bailiff last week. Former town councillor John Crowhurst told members of the town council's grounds committee on Thursday that dog fouling around the pond was at its worst level in the five years since he became a bailiff. "What is of great concern is that at weekends there are many, many children running around the pond banks in these rather hazardous conditions." He added that 10 years ago, the Angling Club built the bird reserve at the southern end of the pond where for the second year running swans were building nests. "There is a great possibility that we will have cygnets again and the last time there were cygnets , one of the adults was found with a broken leg which was undoubtedly the result of a dog bite. "I personally picked up a dead cygnet which was definitely the victim of a dog and the five water bailiffs agree that there is a danger this year to the young new cygnets from the many uncontrolled dogs." He asked town councillors what steps they were prepared to take to use bylaws to enforce the cleaning up of dog mess and safeguard wildfowl from dogs. The chairman of the committee, Chris Jenner,, said he supported Mr Crowhurst's concerns over dog fouling as he regularly took his daughters to the heath to play. He said it might be possible for the town council to issue fines to those who allowed their dogs to foul on the heath. But he said the issue of uncontrolled dogs had been discussed by councillors at length. " I am not in favour of having dogs on leads all the time," he told councillors, "it is an enforcement issue and the only people who can deal with this are the police, who have not got the manpower." He told fellow grounds committee members that if cygnets were hurt by dogs he believed the RSPCA would become involved. Councillors decided to discuss the possibility of restricting dogs around the pond, at their next meeting.
