Dan Newcombe
Well-Known Member
With the greatest respect - if someone in their 80’s can get over the stile. A lab / golden should be able to
Footpaths legality for dogs?
- Thread starter Merlyn
- Start date
Merlyn
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the information. An interesting document.In the bit on open access it specifically mentions dogs.
As regards on footpaths dogs will fall under the category of it has always been done, and specifically a footpath is there if it has been in use for at least 20 years with no objections from the landowner. Marked public footpaths and bridle paths are public rights of way in the same way as a road, with the exception that you cannot use a vehicle.
Also have a read of
Merlyn
Well-Known Member
I think you are right. It, as previously stated, appears to be much the same as the rules for disabled persons. They have a right of access but nowhere states that the path has to be suitable for them to access - Only that it is advisable that they can.
Training your dogs to jump things is always good, and I always have, but it is not always good to tell them to do so. Jumping into a field of young lambs is one such example. You may know that the dog will not touch the sheep but the shepherd and the sheep don't know that. If either of them jump to the wrong conclusion and panic then a disaster can occur very quickly.
firstly if its legal or not would not be my main concern, it would be the safety of my dogs and cattle especially with calves are unpredictable and dangerous . certain breeds of cattle are pretty dopey placid things and others need extra fencing and such because they are known for higher aggression.
genuine fact is people are killed and badly injured by cattle every year . i avoid having my dogs in with any cattle full stop unless those beasts are plainly very used to dogs , i am fit enough to jump a fence line pretty quick but yet i have seen cattle walk right through a good fence with a little provocation . have had them break though into my gardens breaking through well laid brick pillars 4x2 timber rails
My thoughts are find some better walks , report issues to your council if you feel its correct . btw footpaths can be closed for various safety reasons.
Search deaths and accidents with cattle on the internet
genuine fact is people are killed and badly injured by cattle every year . i avoid having my dogs in with any cattle full stop unless those beasts are plainly very used to dogs , i am fit enough to jump a fence line pretty quick but yet i have seen cattle walk right through a good fence with a little provocation . have had them break though into my gardens breaking through well laid brick pillars 4x2 timber rails
My thoughts are find some better walks , report issues to your council if you feel its correct . btw footpaths can be closed for various safety reasons.
Search deaths and accidents with cattle on the internet
it cant fix death
Dan Newcombe
Well-Known Member
Not really - if the dog jumps into the field and then sits waiting for you to climb over it’s not going to upset anyone. Likewise if you climb over and then call the dog it’s not going to upset anyone - assuming that the dog is safe around livestock, which there is no excuse for it not to be.
Greetings, you should have a couple of private messages
The bit about the right to walk your dog only applies to Town and Village Greens.In the bit on open access it specifically mentions dogs.
As regards on footpaths dogs will fall under the category of it has always been done, and specifically a footpath is there if it has been in use for at least 20 years with no objections from the landowner. Marked public footpaths and bridle paths are public rights of way in the same way as a road, with the exception that you cannot use a vehicle.
Also have a read of
The Right to Roam does allow you to take dogs with you (but no other animals, so don't take your ferret on a lead!) BUT only applies to 'Open Access Land' : Access land includes mountains, moors, heaths and downs that are privately owned. It also includes common land and some National Trust land and Forestry Commission land. Unless the land specifically falls into this category (and the vast majority of farmland outside of the uplands does not, despite what most of the general public would like to think!), the Right to Roam does not apply. Open access land can be found on the OS Explorer maps with an orange highlighted boundary.
As mentioned already, there is no requirement for landowners to make a path or stile dog friendly, or usable by those with mobility issues. It only has to be accessible/reasonable for a 'normal person' to use. You can argue about the definition of 'normal' till the cows come home!
I’ve come across groups of ramblers (several times) who come equipped with wire cutters and yes they do attempt to make good but usually make a balls of the repair.
WB
The Duke of Edinburgh Award walkers get way off the beaten track some times best known for heading off the foot path and across a field of peas in pod lol
That's simply not possible on a tensioned wire fence. The cut ends would spring apart, and it would take several tonnes of pull to get them back together again. Not something you can do by hand.
Even if the wire was only partially tensioned, there still wouldn't be enough slack to overlap the two cut ends enough to twist them together. Your friend would have had to carry a load of bits of wire with him to do the joints.
Sounds like he was just a bit of a vandal, happy to damage other people's property. We can do without his type in the countryside. I'd have kicked him off my land pretty sharpish.
Slightly off topic, but I was interested to find that.you can use a public footpath / bridleway whilst carrying your rifle even if you don't have permission to shoot over the land on which the path is located... same general rules as carrying on a road etc. Not sure how often I would risk it if I didn't know the land owner.
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
If you have public rights of way across your land - the following is guidance to landowners I posted above.
Keep public rights of way clear of obstructions
As the owner or occupier of land with a public right of way across it, you must:- avoid putting obstructions on or across the route, such as permanent or temporary fences, walls, hedgerows, padlocked gates or barbed wire
- make sure vegetation does not encroach onto the route from the sides or above, bearing in mind the different clearances needed for users of different types of route, for example by horse riders
You must not disturb the surface of byways, restricted byways and unsurfaced public roads, eg by cultivating.
Yes, that is correct.
I think the rifle also has to be unloaded - i.e. not available for immediate use? I think it is something to do with the finer points of armed trespass? Loaded is, and unloaded isn't.
Nothing wrong with fencing across a footpath if you install a stile at that point. There is no requirement to provide access at ground level for dogs, but dog gates are often provided at the landowner's discretion. If they're not, a walker has no right to cut the wire to let his dog through, even if he does bodge it back together afterwards. That would be criminal damage.
A landowner can also temporarily close a footpath for the purpose of handling livestock. (I have to do this fairly regularly, as I've got a footpath running through my sheep pens on the mountain.
Yep..
Growing crops can also count as an 'obstruction'. A cross-field PROW should be kept clear of growing crops for a width of 1m. You can drill across it, but should cut or spray out the crop along the line of the footpath.
Turnips
Well-Known Member
As far as I can tell (difficult without a picture of course!) the highway was not obstructed. There is a stile, a reasonable piece of furniture which the farmer is entitled to use to contain his livestock, and the wire over the top was shielded in such a way that anyone crossing the stile is not to be electrocuted. There is no requirement to make provision for the passage of dogs.
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