Edinburgh councillors to vote on banning dogs from cemeteries after grieving dad's plea

Paul Irvine, whose three-year-old son Xander died after being hit by a car in 2020, has been calling for the move due to complaints over dogs urinating on graves and damaging graveside keepsakes.

Canines were previously barred from entering the city’s 43 graveyards - but the measure was lifted during the Covid-19 pandemic, writes The Scotsman.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Parliament will debate a proposal to make exercising dogs in cemeteries an offence after a petition by Paul garnered backing.

Edinburgh councillors are due to debate whether people should be banned from exercising dog in cemeteries, allowing entry only to assistance animals or those accompanying mourners

“We live opposite where our son is buried and visit his grave at least once a day,” the father wrote.

“Whilst visiting my son’s grave, my family have witnessed up to 100 people exercising their dogs daily, with dogs being let off-lead or on long leads, resulting in them urinating and defecating on graves – including that of my own son – and damaging teddies left by the public.

“I have approached dog walkers to explain my issue. Most of the time I have been met with hostility and even threats of violence.

“We witness some dog walkers driving to the cemetery, obviously from another area, just to exercise their dog.”

Meanwhile, another petition for the city council to reintroduce its pre-pandemic rules, which exempted assistance animals and those accompanying mourners from the ban, has received more than 1,300 signatures.

“As you can imagine, this situation is traumatic for anyone visiting loved ones,” said petition organiser Andy Lees.

“Many councils in Scotland lifted the ban on dogs in cemeteries, churchyards and burial grounds during the Covid pandemic. Around half of the 32 councils have now reintroduced the ban.”

He continued: “We are hoping this petition will raise the profile of the issue, initially convince Edinburgh Council to bring itself into line with the majority of other Scottish councils and eventually lead to a Scotland-wide ban on dogs in cemeteries, churchyards and burial grounds.”

But a separate petition in opposition to such a ban has gained almost 600 supporters.

Monti Stramka, who started the petition and has been visiting a local burial ground for more than 40 years, said: “I have witnessed very few incidents related to dogs, with occasional dog fouling being the only issue.

“The proposed ban on dogs in cemeteries seems to be based on reasons that do not reflect the reality of most visitors’ experiences.”

The issue is due to be discussed at the council's culture and communities committee meeting on August 8.

Councillor Val Walker, committee convener, said: “I’m conscious that this issue is one of concern for many of our residents. Whilst people need to walk their dogs, this must be done in a respectful and controlled way, especially in spaces where others will be remembering friends and loved ones.

“Unfortunately, if dogs cannot be kept under control whilst in cemeteries, we’ll need to look at measures we can take to address this.

“I’d also encourage all dog owners in the city to be conscious of these concerns and potentially consider using our wide network of fantastic parks across the city instead of cemeteries when walking dogs.”