As Farnham Park witnessed another devastating deer attack this month, memories return to a time when uncontrolled dogs were making headlines for very different reasons.

Back in June 1992, the Petersfield Post reported on East Hampshire District Council’s attempts to tackle a growing problem — dogs straying from home and wandering the streets.

While today’s concerns focus on off-lead pets worrying wildlife in parks, more than 30 years ago it was dogs roaming neighbourhoods in Petersfield that had councillors calling for action.

The report detailed how district councillors had passed new regulations requiring dog owners to pay up if their pet was taken in by the council’s kennels.

Costs could reach as much as £25, no small sum at the time, and the council hoped the charges would discourage owners from letting their dogs roam freely.

Cllr Teresa Jamieson spoke strongly in favour of the new rules, insisting owners “who will not control” their animals should pay up each time their dogs were found loose. Stray pets, she argued, posed a danger not only to children but also to motorists.

“We should follow through every single small experience we can find,” she said, warning that repeated strays placed unnecessary costs on the council.

Her colleague, Cllr Elsa Bulmer, was less convinced that the changes went far enough. She described the environmental protections regulations as a “hopelessly inadequate substitute” for the national dog registration act that had only narrowly been defeated.

“It makes me really angry,” she said, criticising the Government for refusing to introduce what she saw as essential legislation.

Environmental services manager Peter Fairbairn clarified that first-time offenders would not be charged if their dogs were returned directly and not kennelled.

Repeat offences, however, would incur fees rising to £25 plus expenses. The local dog warden was tasked with recording descriptions of each stray so repeat offenders could be identified.