Countryside Code

All of Charlton Musgrove’s public rights-of-way cross fields used by farmers to grow crops or graze their animals.
– Please be responsible and don’t let your dog foul agricultural land, a public right-of-way or open access land.
– Dog mess harbours parasites that can harm farm animals especially cows and sheep: It can contain one million microscopic Toxocara Eggs: Toxocaris is highly infectious, especially to children.
– Please keep your dogs under control on a short lead. A loose out-of-control dog could wound or kill a sheep; cause a pregnant ewe to miscarry; or cause a newborn lamb to be separated from and rejected by its mother.
– It is a criminal offence (see note below) to allow your dog to attack or worry livestock (sheep, cattle, horses, goats, poultry) and remember, as a last resort, a farmer is legally entitled to shoot a dog if they can’t stop it chasing or worrying their farm animals. And you could be liable to compensate the farmer for any financial losses.