A pet owner from Wales has been ordered to pay more than £1,500 after her continuously barking dogs created a statutory noise nuisance for neighbours.
Keira Marsh, from Porth, was found guilty of breaching an abatement notice on six separate occasions, contravening section 80(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The case was heard at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court where evidence showed Marsh had repeatedly ignored warnings from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council to address the issue of her dogs' excessive barking, which was causing significant distress to those living nearby.
The court heard that a neighbour had submitted a staggering 225 recordings of the dogs barking within a three-month period as evidence of the disturbance, Wales Online reports.
The court heard that a neighbour had submitted a staggering 225 recordings of the dogs barking within a three-month period as evidence of the disturbance (stock pic)
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Environmental health officers from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council launched an investigation after receiving these sound recordings from the complainant.
Officers visited the neighbour's property and witnessed the “continuous barking” firsthand, confirming that a statutory noise nuisance existed.
This classification means the noise was severe enough to cause prejudice to health and/or create an unreasonable and persistent disturbance that interfered with a person's enjoyment of their property.
Marsh was subsequently served with an abatement notice requiring her to stop the activity causing the nuisance.
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The case was heard at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court
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Despite repeated requests from the council to address the issue, Marsh ignored all communication and failed to attend interviews at council offices.
The evidence provided by the complainant demonstrated that “multiple dogs were left to bark for prolonged periods of time and the abatement notice had been breached.”
Marsh also failed to attend her hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court and was found guilty in her absence.
She received a £300 fine and was ordered to pay £1,115.27 in costs and a victim surcharge of £120, bringing the total financial penalty to £1,535.27.
RCT cabinet member and councillor Bob Harris said: “The council's environmental health team investigates noise complaints and, when officers have evidenced the noise constitutes a statutory nuisance, we always try to work positively with the subject of the complaint to offer advice and guidance on how to deal with the issue.
“In this case the council's efforts to find a solution to the problem were repeatedly ignored leaving officers no other option than to prosecute.”
A council spokesman added that while occasional barking is usually not problematic, excessive barking can “materially interfere with use of a person's property” and may also compromise the dog's welfare.
