Nus Ghani has congratulated Wealden District Council for achieving a Bronze Housing Footprint Award in the RSPCA’s Community Animal Welfare Footprint Awards 2017.
Wealden District Council will be presented with the award tonight at the Winner’s Reception at RICS Parliament Square.
The RSPCA have given Wealden District Council this award in recognition of the work it does in protecting pet welfare in its 3,100 council homes. Wealden District Council has put into place safeguards which cover the ownership of all pets in council tenancies in order to ensure that pets are properly treated and do not cause a nuisance to other tenants.
Under Wealden’s Pets Procedure for housing, no pet should be left in a property when the tenant is away unless clear arrangements have been made for its care and, as a general rule, no more than two pets are allowed per family home and no more than one in the case of a retirement tenancy.
The RSPC works closely with local authorities, the police, local resilience forums and housing associations in order to help them to deliver animal welfare services. The Community Animal Welfare Footprint award scheme was launched in 2008 and recognises organisations that go above and beyond the basic requirements to ensure higher standards for animals in the services they provide.
Commenting on the award, Ms Ghani said: “This award is wholly deserved by Wealden District Council. There were a huge number of entries to the competition this year and the fact that Wealden District Council won an award is a testament to the very high standard for animal welfare the Council have set in the local area.
Wealden District Council have a very thorough ‘Pets Constitution’ which provides guidance and advice about responsible pet ownership, as well as setting out the actions the Council will take in instances where pets cause a danger or nuisance to neighbours or are not responsibly cared for.
People across Wealden are animal lovers and many of us enjoy the companionship and support that pets can offer; however, pet ownership also entails a great deal of responsibility. As such, I am proud that the Council upholds such a high standard of pet welfare and responsible ownership across its tenancies.”