How to contact us
To report a problem relating to animal nuisance including dog fouling or noise contact:
Customer Contact Team:
Phone: 0161 253 5353.
E-mail: customercontactteam@bury.gov.uk.
On-line: Report a problem.
To report a problem with a stray dog contact:
Animal Wardens:
Phone: 0845 2417253.
E-mail: info@animalwardens.com.
Please note: If you contact Animal Wardens by e-mail please provide the following information:
- contact number;
- name;
- address;
- postcode; and
- details of the incident.
To report a problem with a dangerous dog contact:
Greater Manchester Police:
Phone: 0161 872 5050.
In the event of an emergency phone 999.
About the dog warden service
The dog warden will help you if you lose your dog, and aims to help prevent stray dogs from being a danger in traffic or a nuisance to people.
In particular, the service aims to deal with problems caused by the four main symptoms of irresponsible dog ownership:
- Barking dogs;
- Dangerous dogs;
- Dog fouling;
- Straying dogs.
When a dog is caught straying, the dog wardens will try to trace the owners and return it. There is a charge for this service.
Strays who's owners cannot be traced are taken to the Manchester Dogs Home who keep them safely for up to seven days. You can contact them at:
Manchester Dogs Home, Crofter's House, Moss Brook Road, Church Lane, Manchester, M9 5PG. Phone 0871 9181212.
Any complaint regarding dogs straying on school premises or interfering with the flow of traffic will be dealt with urgently.
Any complaints about dogs will be responded to as quickly as possible, but always within 2 working days. The dog warden will act in confidentiality and keep you informed about what they are doing.
Some complaints cannot be dealt with by the dog warden. These will be passed quickly to the appropriate agency, for example, the police (currently under review) or the RSPCA.
The dog warden will ensure the Council's legal duties are met, so far as dogs are concerned. They will also regularly patrol areas covered by dog related by-laws, and put up anti-dog fouling stickers where needed or requested.
School talks
There is an emphasis placed in educating current and prospective dog owners as young as possible, and we therefore encourage the heads of primary schools in the Bury area to request for a scheduled dog warden talk to pupils about all aspects of responsible dog ownership.
If you are a Head/teacher at a school in the Bury MBC area, you can request for a scheduled talk by a dog warden to take place by writing or e-mailing your request with dates & times to enable the wardens to fascilitate your request.
Tag your dog!
Your dog must wear a collar and tag by law when out in a public place. The first time we catch your dog straying we will return it to you. But we can only do this if it is wearing a tag, or is microchipped.
As stated previously, if we catch a stray dog, and we can't trace the owner, or it is a persistent offender the dog is taken to the Manchester Dogs Home where it is kept for 7 days.
If the dog is collected within 7 days there is a fine to pay, plus the kennelling charges before the dog is released.
If you do not collect your dog within seven days, you will lose the right to reclaim it, and the Manchester Dogs Home will endeavour to re-home it.
Micro-chipping
We recommend that you have your pet dog micro-chipped (the chip contains your ownership details).
This assists in the return of your dog, should it become lost or stray. It may also assist with the return of your dog in the event that it is stolen.
Go to the dog microchipping page for more information.
Fouling by dogs
The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 came into force on 1 May 1997.
This Act means that it is illegal to fail to clear up after your dog "forthwith" if it fouls any land which is open to the air and to which the public have access.
Therefore when exercising your dog make sure you go prepared with a poop bag at all times.
The penalty for contravening the Act is an"on the spot" fine and/or prosecution in the magistrates court if a persistent offender as it can be considered to be antisocial behaviour under new legislation.
Biodegradable plastic "Doggy Bags" are available free of charge from public offices of the Council. Bury Council dog wardens also carry poop bags and will supply you with a free bag on request. Some people purchase & use nappy sacks for this same purpose.
The dog warden service:
- Responds to all complaints as soon as possible but always within 2 working days(exceptions being Bank Holidays).
- Responds urgently to sightings of stray dogs on school premises or interfering with traffic.
- Collects and returns your stray dog provided it has a collar and address tag.
- Collects all other strays or persistent offenders, and takes them to the Manchester Dogs Home who keep them safely for a maximum of seven days for collection by the owner (subject to the payment of a fine and kennelling fees).
- The wardens & the dogs home work with local re-homing charities and have an excellent record of successful rehoming placements.
- Promotes responsible dog ownership through talks to Primary schools and other groups.
- Will provide a poop bag on request to dog owners in parks etc (currently free of charge) as requested.
- Enforces the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996.
- Microchips dogs in promotion of responsible ownership.
