BURY Council is planning to make irresponsible dog owners pay the price for their wandering pets.

From July, owners of lost dogs will have to fork out an extra £25 to be reunited with their missing pets from kennels in Manchester.

Around 180 stray dogs a month are picked up by Bury's two full-time dog wardens.

If an animal can be identified by its collar, it will be returned to its owners with a written warning. But when a dog has been picked up on previous occasions, or its identity is unknown, it is taken to police kennels.

The dogs are then collected by the Manchester and District Home for Lost Dogs, and taken to their premises in Manchester.

At present, owners reclaiming their pets from police kennels usually have to pay £5.87 per day. Those collecting their pet from the dogs' home have to pay £5 a night after the first day.

Council chiefs say the new £25 recovery fee, which is already in operation in neighbouring authorities, will help offset the costs of Bury's Dog Warden Service.

Alan Freer, Borough environmental services officer said that straying dogs and the associated fouling and nuisance are a major cause of complaint to the Dog Warden Service and the local community.

"The introduction of a £25 recovery fee will impose a financial penalty on irresponsible dog owners who permit their dogs to stray," he said.

"And it may have the added benefit of deterring people from allowing their dogs to stray."

The possibility of introducing a recovery fee at police kennels will be discussed with Greater Manchester Police at a later date.

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