Queensland man fighting Fraser Coast Council after receiving $700 fine for his dogs ‘looking through a fence’
A Queensland man has taken to social media after he was slapped with a large fine from his local council after his dogs were seen “looking through a fence”.
The man, who lives in the Fraser Coast council area, posted a TikTok showing a $718 fine he had received for not complying with orders from the council to ensure his two German shepherds could not escape his property.
The resident explained his dogs had previously managed to force their way through his electric gate which has an emergency override feature in case something gets stuck.
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He admitted he was in the wrong and that his dogs had escaped, and rectified the situation by disabling the electric gate and adding a gate hook so that it can only be opened and closed manually.
Last month the man received a compliance notice from the council dated 31/1/23, asking him to ensure his “enclosure was adequate” and “suitably fenced” in a way that would prevent the dogs from escaping, attacking anyone or “protruding over, under, through or around the fence”.
He then received the $718 failure to comply fine with the evidence attached a photo of his two dogs looking through a gap in his fence.
“Sending me a picture of my dogs looking through a fence while you were walking up on the grass, what do you think they’re gonna do, they’re German shepherds,” the Fraser Coast resident argued on TikTok.
“Did they try and bite you, no? Have they ever bit another person, no?
“They’re German shepherds, not angry dogs, sturdy gate, no different to anyone else’s fences in the street.”
The man also pointed out that the photo evidence was dated 17/1/23, two weeks before he received the non-compliance issue.
“Seriously, you lot [the council] need to brush up on your paperwork skills,” he said.
“Are you telling me you’re fining me 14 days before I got your non-compliance issue?”
The man has made multiple TikToks covering his ongoing fight with the council, with hundreds of users commenting their opinion on the situation.
“This has to be the most money hungry council,” one person wrote.
“This is ridiculous,” another said.
A Fraser Coast council spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au that the dog owner was not fined for the animals “being able to see through the fence”.
“The fine was issued for not complying with a notice to improve the enclosure to ensure containment,” they said.
“The dogs had earlier jumped the fence. The owners were directed to make improvements to stop their pets escaping again, to which the owners did not comply.”
The council did not confirm why the resident had received the compliance notice 14 days after he allegedly breached the rules.
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