Petition launched to reverse dog walking ban

Professional dog walkers have said they are angry after being banned from land owned by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

Signs have been erected around the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate warning that commercial dog walking is not permitted in the area.

The organisation, which hosts a number of large-scale events at the venue, said the decision came after it had received a number of complaints from other dog walkers that their animals had been attacked.

An online petition calling for the ban to be reversed has had more than 500 signatures.

Linda Riding said she had been walking dogs around the Showground's land for 40 years, 17 of those as a commercial dog walker.

She told the BBC: "I think it's totally unfair. All the signs came up just overnight and nobody knew about them."

The nearby Hookstone Wood can still be used by commercial dog walkers because it is not part of the Showground's land, but Ms Riding said the footpaths were narrow and and open space limited - so the dogs were unable to get the exercise they could before the ban was introduced.

Ms Riding suggested that a "code of conduct" might be the answer, where commercial dog walkers could agree to "adhere to the rules".

"We would be happy with that", she said.

Another two dog walkers wished to remain anonymous but told the BBC: "Obviously when you're dog walking - dog on a lead, dog off a lead - and you've got sort of 10 dogs running up to you, they are quite often completely out of control.

"It isn't pleasant when you're trying to walk you own dog", they added.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society said "responsible dog walkers", who were not walking their pets as part of commercial dog walking services, were "welcome to use the public footpaths and bridleways" at the Great Yorkshire Showground, and these routes were clearly indicated on signage.

It said it had taken "action to deter commercial dog walking" for the "safety and enjoyment of all visitors".

Allister Nixon, chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, said: "We welcome dog walkers, I'm a dog owner myself, but in the past three or four months we've been inundated with calls and complaints from the general public about dog attacks, and abuse owners in the general public have received from commercial dog walkers.

"We can have seven or eight vans a day arrive with groups of up to 12 dogs at any one time - we had one complaint where three vans arrived at once and there were 30 dogs," he added.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.