Riga plans to scrap dog fee and tighten off-leash rules

Riga plans to end its dog-keeping fee and tighten rules on when dogs can be walked without a leash, LSM reports. The proposals were backed by the responsible committee, but were taken off the city council meeting agenda for further preparation.

The Latvian capital has nearly 60,000 registered dogs and eight designated dog-walking areas, an average of about 7,500 dogs per area. For more than two years, these fenced areas have been the only public places in Riga where dogs may run off leash; owners may also let them off leash on private property.

The fee has been in force for 30 years and has brought the municipality nearly two million euros a year, according to the report.

Dog owners interviewed by Latvian Radio had differing views on the available facilities. Andis, who walks a Scottish setter, said he sometimes lets the dog off leash in Kleisti Forest or Dzegužkalns in the late evening. He said he had not realised the rules had changed and acknowledged that he was not always following them.

Gunta, another dog owner, said she lets her dog off leash in the forest and outside Riga, and usually uses the dog-walking area in Nordeķi Park within the city. She said eight areas seemed too few for the number of dogs, though she recognised that expanding them would require resources.

Riga previously allowed dogs to be off leash in parks, forests and other public places at night and in the early morning under municipal rules. Those rules were repealed about two years ago. Since then, national regulations have required dogs to be kept on a leash except in designated dog-walking areas.