What is considered animal nuisance?
Animal nuisance can have a detrimental impact on an individual’s mental health and wellbeing. Animal nuisance can include:
Excessive or unreasonable animal noise, e.g. barking, cockerels, for long durations, at a high volume and/or at unreasonable times of day.
Aggressive or out of control animals.
Irresponsible ownership e.g. dog fouling and no clean up.
Excessive bird feeding e.g. putting out feed which attracts pests.
What is the difference between statutory noise nuisance and animal nuisance?
In order for animal noise to be considered a statutory nuisance it must meet one of the following legal tests:
• Unreasonably and substantially interferes with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premise.
• Injure health or be likely to injure health.
It’s worth bearing in mind that even if animal noise DOES NOT meet the statutory level, agencies can still take other forms of civil action such as Community Protection Warnings and Notices, and Injunctions, depending on the evidence that is available.
Diary sheets
Diary sheets are a great way to record what is happening, how often and the impact this has had on yourself and your household.
Please ensure that you pass these diary sheets onto your case officer regularly so they can review the content and consider what action to take. If a case goes to court, (although this is not always necessary to stop the ASB) records of the ASB captured in good detail at the time it happened will help officers handling the case by providing credible, accurate evidence. Most agencies will have a template ASB diary sheet that they should be able to supply you with. However, in the meantime, you can use your own diary or download the ASB Help Diary Sheet.
Noise monitoring equipment
Noise monitoring equipment should be available from your local authority’s Environmental Team. Some housing associations and local authorities now have noise monitoring apps which enables you to download an app onto your mobile device to record noise levels.
Here are some steps you can follow to deal with, or report the animal nuisance:
1. Attempt a reasonable discussion with your neighbours (written or verbally) to try and resolve the issue. Only do this is you feel it is appropriate to approach your neighbour.
2. If speaking with your neighbour is unsuccessful, or inappropriate, contact your local authority’s Environmental Health Team. This team is often responsible for investigating animal nuisance/statutory noise complaints.
3. If you are concerned about a dangerous animal, contact your local authority who may have a dedicated team to deal with this.
4. If your neighbours are council tenants, housing association tenants or private tenants, we would also advise you to report the animal nuisance to their landlords.
What else can be done regarding aggressive animals?
If you come across a dog that is not on a lead or is out of control in a public space, you can check if there is a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in place through your council’s website. PSPO’s sometimes require owners to always keep their dogs on a lead in a specified area. Breaching a PSPO may result in a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice (on the spot fine).
If there is not a PSPO in place in your public space and you have concerns surrounding an aggressive animal, we advise for you to report this to your council. If there has been any harm to you or another member of public from an animal, you should call the police immediately on 999 and an ambulance if required.
If you are worried about how an animal is being taken care of, please report your concerns to the RSPCA.
What should I do if nothing has worked?
Request an ASB Case Review
You may feel like you have exhausted all your options. You may have reported anti-social behaviour but feel no one is listening and the anti-social behaviour is continuing. The ASB Case Review has been designed for this situation.
If you (or others with your consent) have reported three incidents (or more) within a six-month period, you can activate the ASB Case Review.
This will activate a multi-agency case review designed to devise an action plan to resolve the anti-social behaviour collectively.
Read more about the ASB Case Review.