Petition:
We, the undersigned, call on Bristol City Council to ensure that professional dog walkers are treated fairly, consistently, and safely across all Bristol parks and green spaces.

Professional dog walkers are mobile operators, not based in any one park, and provide an essential service supporting dogs’ health, welfare, and socialisation.

We operate to high professional standards, including:
Behavioural assessments and individual handling for dogs unsuitable for group walks
Avoiding high-traffic areas and maintaining full control at all times
Cleaning up after dogs and maintaining excellent hygiene standards. Adhering to insurance, DBS, and recognised professional standards (including ABTC and PACT where applicable)
Crucially, responsible professional dog walkers already make informed decisions about where to walk.

We use wide, open spaces for group walks where there is room, visibility, and control — and we actively avoid smaller, busier parks where higher dog numbers would be inappropriate.
We fully support limits of four dogs in small, inner-city parks and confined green spaces.

However, applying this same restriction across all environments is not proportionate or evidence-based.
A blanket limit of four dogs is also not commercially viable. Most professional dog walkers are insured to walk up to six dogs — a standard recognised across the UK. If this number posed a genuine safety risk, insurance providers would not support it.

We also recognise that the RSPCA advises four dogs or fewer. However, this is general guidance — not law — and does not distinguish between confined parks and large, open environments where higher numbers can be safely managed by experienced professionals.

The proposed restriction creates inconsistency and unfairness. Boarding businesses may still be permitted to walk more dogs in the same spaces, despite operating in exactly the same way on the ground.
Professional dog walkers provide more than just a service:

We support dogs that would otherwise be left alone for long periods
We provide structured exercise and appropriate socialisation
We are a regular, responsible presence — extra eyes and ears in more remote areas.

Despite the serious impact these restrictions may have on our livelihoods, we remain committed to the dogs in our care. In many professions, people take industrial action when decisions threaten their ability to work — even where it affects those who rely on them. We will not take that approach. The dogs we care for depend on us daily, and their welfare comes first, regardless of the pressure on our businesses.

We urge Bristol City Council to:
Recognise that professional dog walkers are mobile and use parks in a responsible, considered way
Allow licensed professional walkers to walk up to six dogs, in line with insurance and national standards
Apply proportionate rules: four dogs in small parks, appropriate flexibility in wide open spaces
Ensure any licensing scheme is transparent, fair, and evidence-based — not based on blanket restrictions
Bristol’s parks are a shared resource.
Supporting responsible professional dog walkers ensures dogs are exercised safely, the public can enjoy green spaces with confidence, and small, ethical businesses can continue to operate sustainably.

Right rules for the right spaces.