Cat Chat Feline Forum

Today I received this in response to the posters I put up around my local area hoping to get our missing tortie back . My question is do you think the council will come after me?

I called borough and the county council and they were very nice but said we don't give permission - I felt reading between the lines I was not going to be a big problem to them.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thank you

Dear xxx
Hopefully your Dotty is safe home again. If not, I guess she's gone for good, as she
would have been away for more than a fortnight now.

Either way, the posters will have by now outlived their usefulness, and I would urge
you to go around and take them all down again, since I reckon that anyone putting up
a notice also has a duty to take it down when it's finished with, rather than
leaving it to rot and disfigure the public environment.

As I'm sure you're aware, putting up notices like these, while very understandable,
is in fact illegal and classed as fly-posting or littering, with each item
potentially attracting a fixed penalty charge of currently, I believe, £75.

Generally, local councils will not pursue such things unless they get a complaint
from a member of the public, and I will hold off from bringing it to their
attention until after the weekend, by which time the posters will hopefully all have
gone from view.

Kind regards,

xx

never heard of that, like ever.

If you need the posters then keep them up! Some people just like to put their noses in where they are not welcome...

If the council is fine with it then I really doubt that this busy body will get anywhere!

I agree with Becci

If the council are not bothered then leave them up!

Sorry but that letter has made me REALLY angry! The nerve and cheek of some people

Hi,

Have you seen the info here regarding Lost Cats:

http://www.catchat.org/lost.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The only thing it mentions is:

"Do not nail posters to trees. (As well as causing a risk of infection in the tree, this can also result in a fine from your local council.)"

So providing you've not done that I would think it's ok. I personally think it sounds mean to object at someone trying to find their cat, and I do hope you find yours very soon.

I'd check with your Borough or District Council (as opposed to the County Council) to see if they have a byelaw on flyposting, because nasty as this note is, they could well be right (I'll check with my friend who deals with local byelaws whether it's a local thing or not). And there is an implied threat that they will report you to the Council. Lovely person (not).

I do hope Dotty has come home (has she?).

If not, you could take down your old poster and put up a new one saying "Nope she's still not home." So you have done as they asked.

Hugs - if she hasn't and head fluffles if she has come home.

Samantha

Good grief - I'm speechless at that! Whilst I get the point, and always do make sure to take down any posters I've put up once they've served their purpose, the 'I guess she's gone for good' bit is so heartless and mean spirited!

I'm sure it depends on the local council, but they may well be technically correct, although the council would be unlikely to pursue it ..... which seems to be pretty much what they've said to you.

I think Minnie's Mum made a good suggestion. In your position, I'd make a new poster saying 'still missing', perhaps adding a few more details, ask people to check sheds and garages again and then replace every one of your original posters. It's a good idea to update posters after a while anyway, maybe even adding a new picture to encourage people to look at it again, but it also just might calm this person down if they know that you are taking responsibility for them, and that the poster is still serving a purpose.

I hope you do find Dottie. xx

What an incredibly mean-spirited thing to do! Honestly some people!
I agree with what the other 'Chatters' are saying and I think Samantha's idea is a very good one.
Around here you will see this sort of notice in the Post Office, Newsagents, Vets and local shops. Most of these premises have notice boards and will happily let you post a notice.
Good Luck. I hope Dotty comes home soon.
Best wishes
Sue

Whoever posted that note really needs to get a life. Ignore them. If they do report you it's more than likely that the council will only have a quiet word rather than go in heavy with the fine. Fines are really intended for persistent offenders, such as advertising rather than "lost cat" notices. And if the council do get heavy, go to the press and say how mean they (and the person who reported you) are being.

Otherwise, do as Samantha suggests, take them down for a day or two, then put some different ones up.

I'm assuming you've circulated the details to all the vet's surgeries? You could also run an ad in your local paper?

Strictly speaking, the council regard it as damage, but your local busybody has no right to give you an ultimatum. If the council decide they want you to to take them down, I am sure they would give you fair warning and not just fine you.

My only experience of this is quite a few years back. The branch of Cats Protection I volunteered for homed a cat to some people in a first floor flat. I got a call saying Milly had escaped from a window. The family had gone around the area sellotaping posters to lamp posts etc. They were threatened with an ASBO for doing it. I contacted Cats Protection HQ, who in turn got their PR department to contact various media. Within a couple of days, the story was in national newspapers and BBC News sent a film crew to interview the family. In the end they interviwed the leader of Canterbury Council who agreed that the staff were being 'overzealous' - anyway, Milly was found in the end

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7600602.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spoke to my friend and putting posters up comes under planning - I missed that you'd spoken to the Borough Council in your original thread. Different Councils seem to different things. Some just instruct their street cleaners to remove them, others ask you to. Depends where you live. Having taken a squint at the Government guidance, it's most likely that the Council will contact you to take them down if there's a problem, rather than haul you up before the courts.

So hugs to you and hope your wandering kitty returns soon.

Whilst I don't think its great for the person to have responded like this it could have been worse - I'm sure we've all heard about horrible people who tear down the 'missing' posters or deface them or worse?

This person has at least tried to be sensible about saying the posters shouldn't be left up indefinitely. Perhaps the best course of action might be to draft up some new posters saying something along the lines of 'Precious Family Member Still Missing' - perhaps dated and with a message that the posters will only be left for a short period and are in fact legal.