Closed petition: Make it a specific criminal offence to walk dogs on hot pavements and roads

Closed on 1 February 2026

Make it a specific criminal offence to walk a dog on hot pavements and roads, thereby risking burning the dog's paws. We think this problem simply isn’t being dealt with and that this change would assist the general public to help look out for it occurring instead of using overstretched resources.

We believe that too many dogs are being walked during the hottest time of the day on scalding pavements and tarmac with no shade. A human may not be able to tolerate this heat so a dog shouldn't have to either. We think this is an act of cruelty and abuse and should be explicitly defined and criminalised as such in law.