It was already warned a few weeks ago: the city council will apply a heavy hand to dog owners and will start fining dog owners who do not clean up the urine of their animals.
The Barcelona City Council has launched a civic awareness and information campaign aimed at dog owners as part of the Management Plan, seeking to reduce uncivic behavior related to pet ownership in public spaces.
The most conflictive areas for dog ownership in Barcelona.
To undertake this campaign the consistory has detected 27 areas of shared use in the city that are considered conflictive for dog ownership, in the sense that more uncivic acts can occur. These points cover all districts of Barcelona and include squares, parks, gardens and beaches.
In all of them, the City Council has deployed an awareness campaign with civic informers who provide advice to users to improve coexistence between people and pets and also distribute bottles to clean up urine and bags to collect excrement.
The list of hot spots, where neighbors can go to collect this material (and to inform and raise awareness) are:
- Plaza de la Barceloneta (Old Town).
- Joan Coromines Square (Old City)
- Vicenç Martorell Square (Old Town)
- Josep Tarradellas Avenue (El Ensanche)
- Mistral Avenue (El Ensanche)
- Clotilde Cerdà Gardens (Eixample)
- Gardens of Rambla de Sants (Sants-Montjuïc)
- Rambla de Badal (Sants-Montjuïc)
- Gardens of Francesc Masclans i Girves (Sants-Montjuïc)
- Colonia Castells Park (Les Corts)
- Ernest Lluch Gardens (Les Corts)
- Pintor Ribalta dog area (Les Corts)
- Bacardí Gardens (Les Corts)
- Swimming Pool and Sports Gardens (Sarrià – San Gervasio)
- Turó Park (Sarrià – San Gervasio)
- Oreneta Castle Park (Sarrià – San Gervasio)
- Joanic Square (Gracia)
- Doctor Pla i Armengol Gardens (Horta-Guinardó)
- Gardens of Montbau (Horta-Guinardó)
- Can Xiringoi Gardens (Nou Barris)
- Josep M. Serra Martí Park (Nou Barris)
- Guineueta Park (Nou Barris)
- Turó de la Peira Park (Nou Barris)
- Canódromo Square (San Andrés)
- La Pegaso Park (San Andrés)
- Poblenou Center Park (San Martín)
- Gandhi Gardens (San Martín)
- Nova Icaria Beach (San Martín)
- Bogatell Beach (San Martín)
Fines from November
Barcelona is home to an estimated 200,000 dogs. According to Carme Maté, director of the City Council’s Animal Rights Services, only 2% of dog owners display uncivic attitudes, but this may represent a significant number considering the high number of canines in the city.
The information campaign will continue during October, focusing on educating about the times when dogs are allowed to be taken off leash in shared spaces and the rules for responsible dog ownership. Starting in November, a sanctioning campaign will be launched by the Guardia Urbana to address uncivic attitudes related to pet ownership.