Riga City Council Plans to Scrap Dog Ownership Fee and Tighten Rules on Off-Leash Dogs

Riga City Council, the municipal government of Latvia's capital, plans to abolish the dog-keeping fee and at the same time introduce stricter requirements for letting dogs off the leash. The fee has been in force in Riga for 30 years and adds slightly under two million euros a year to the municipal budget. The council's responsible committee backed the changes, but at the council meeting the issue was suddenly removed from consideration so that it could be prepared more carefully.

Dogs and dog areas

Riga has almost 60,000 registered dogs but only eight dog areas. On average, that works out at about 7,500 dogs for each area.

Current rules

For more than two years, these areas have been the only places in the capital where owners may let their dogs run without a leash, apart from the owner's own private property. The council now intends to set an even stricter regime, although the source does not detail what exactly the additional requirements will be.

What comes next

The source does not say when the matter could return to the council's agenda. It is only known that the proposal will be prepared further, covering both the abolition of the fee and the new requirements for walking dogs off-leash.