I REFER to the front page of the Times on July 17 and the draft 'Fouling of Land by Dogs' Order 2014. If a dog leaves droppings on the pavement or recognised footpath, the person in control should clean up but on the open moor it seems ridiculous, or are farmers to be required to pick up sheep and cattle droppings, both of which can cause disease? Will Dartmoor National Park also be responsible for picking up rabbit droppings? It does appear that someone has been carried away and at a time of budgetary restraint, I would have thought they could find something more productive to do! As a matter of interest, how many bins will be placed on the 365 square miles of Dartmoor to provide the necessary facilities and how will these be reached to be emptied? The disease of over regulation seems to be passed on from Brussels to West Devon! The mind boggles with the thought of farmers, out with their working dogs tending to their sheep and cattle, having to stop and comply with these new regulations! A J Wroath Lydford WITH reference to your headline in the Times regarding dog owners picking up, it would be interesting to know exactly how far the West Devon boundaries extend and how they intend to enforce this ruling. I regularly walk my dog by the Walkham at Bedford Bridge and last year complained about the mass of plastic bags containing dog poo that festoons paths, bushes and trees there, and suggested a dog bin but was told it was down to the local parish council and nothing to do with WDBC, so it is just getting worse by the day. While one can quite understand that picking up is essential in public areas like parks and gardens in and around towns and villages, is West Devon Borough Council seriously telling and expecting dog owners out on the moor to pick up when they are surrounded by the outpourings from sheep, cattle, horses, foxes and heaven knows what else — or are farmers expected to pick up this as well? All that is going to happen is more and more plastic bags are going to be left lying around by irresponsible owners. So if the council wants people to act responsibly and pick up then it should be clear about where people are expected to pick up and be prepared to provide dog bins as well as having them emptied regularly, which would undoubtedly be cheaper than employing wardens at some ridiculous cost to the taxpayer. Paul Mercer Peter Tavy IT is not clear from the Dog Order page on West Devon Borough Council's website how the draft order relates to Dartmoor National Park and Common land, or to current legislation under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. It is absurd that the largest area of open country in southern England ie Dartmoor, which has mostly been defined as Access Land under the CROW Act, is not yet covered by a byelaw relating to control of dogs. This would have at least the same status in law as Schedule 2 paras 4 and 5 of the CROW Act, namely, that all dogs should be kept on a lead between March 1 and July 31 and at all other times of year in the vicinity of livestock. Anything less than this will be bound to fail as 'close control' is a meaningless phrase. Obviously exemption needs to be granted to working dogs. Such legislation is essential for the protection of livestock and ground-nesting birds. An emphasis on dog fouling has little relevance on Dartmoor except perhaps in very heavily used areas such as Roborough Down or Whitchurch Down.

Tom Greeves Chairman Dartmoor Society THE dog control order being drafted by West Devon Borough Council about tightening up legislation in last week's front page article makes sense if it can enforce dog owners to control their animals, especially round livestock on the moors, but having walked dogs on the moors for over 30 years, I think that the proposal to enforce owners to pick up their dogs poo from the moors is just over the top. I agree wholeheartedly with Lynda Smith, mentioned in your article, that if this was enforced you would find a collection of black poo bags all over the place. Any new dog control order brought in should concentrate on a stronger enforcement of owners picking up their dogs poo in the town and residential areas with stiffer fines and publication of culprits' names, rather than worrying about the moors. Alistair Loftus Tavistock