You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
ADVICE<br />
ask<br />
HANS-TORSTEN<br />
Hans-Torsten Richter answers your questions about surviving and thriving<br />
in Berlin. Write to hanstorsten@exberliner.com.<br />
Dear Hans-Torsten: I was walking my dog,<br />
on a lead, on Boxhagener Platz when a man<br />
approached me. He flashed a laminated<br />
piece of paper ID and said he was from the<br />
“Umweltamt”. Was I aware that there are<br />
no dogs allowed on green spaces that also<br />
have a kids’ play area? That if the Ordnungsamt<br />
comes, I’d be fined €120 for being in<br />
the park with my dog? The man’s German<br />
wasn’t great, and he was possibly new at his<br />
job, so I couldn’t get any clarification: is this<br />
a new regulation to do with the new dog<br />
laws being implemented this year? Are dogs<br />
forbidden because it’s a fenced-in area,<br />
or does this apply to all parks that have<br />
children’s play areas? Is there or isn’t there<br />
a regulation that forbids dogs from all parks<br />
in Berlin, even if they’re on a lead? —Finn<br />
Dear Finn: This is indeed a frustrating and<br />
confusing issue for dog owners. Nobody really<br />
knows where what is allowed. It’s a little known<br />
or much-ignored fact that five years ago, the<br />
district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg officially<br />
banned dogs from various public squares<br />
and streets, including Weber wiese, Annemirl-<br />
Bauer-Platz, Traveplatz, and, yes, Boxhagener<br />
Platz. Presumably to get the ungodly amounts<br />
of dogshit under control. On Boxi, it’s a double<br />
Verbot: the “green” area where you were<br />
walking your dog has some swings on it and<br />
hence qualifies as a playground. For understandable<br />
reasons of safety and hygiene, there<br />
is a citywide ban on canines on playgrounds.<br />
But there is a lot more you should<br />
probably know about the byzantine legal<br />
situation regarding dogs. Under current<br />
law, you’re supposed to have your dog on<br />
a lead on busy squares and streets (like<br />
Alex and Ku’damm) and in all parks with<br />
the green Naturschutzgebiet triangle (often<br />
hard to read thanks to graffiti). But a new<br />
law proposed by the Senatsverwaltung für<br />
Justiz und Verbraucherschutz (Department of<br />
Justice and Consumer Protection) will make<br />
things stricter. The legislation is now making<br />
its way to the Berlin state parliament, and if<br />
it gets passed (which looks likely), it could<br />
go into effect in 2016. The new Hundegesetz<br />
will require your four-legged family member<br />
to be leashed everywhere in the city, except<br />
in designated Hundeauslaufgebieten (leadfree<br />
zones).<br />
Right now a ban on canines around<br />
Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke in the<br />
Grunewald forest has spurred anger among<br />
owners, as this was a favourite place to let<br />
dogs splash around in the lake and roll in the<br />
mud. Citing dog crap polluting the water and<br />
endangering the health of bathing children,<br />
the officials forbid dogs from swimming or<br />
frolicking on the banks. In Grunewald, that’s<br />
only possible in the Grunewaldsee – which<br />
is already polluted as hell anyway, according<br />
to the city’s website! Speaking of pollution,<br />
next year you’ll feel the full force of my new<br />
favourite German word: Kotbeutelmitführpflicht<br />
(doo-doo-bag-carrying-duty). When<br />
out with your dog you’ll have to always have<br />
poop baggies with you. Always have an extra<br />
unused one in case you get “controlled” by<br />
the Ordnungsamt. And beware, the Senat<br />
is hiring two additional people per district<br />
just to monitor dog compliance. They’ll be<br />
checking that your pooch has its mandatory<br />
collar tag proving you’ve paid your dog tax.<br />
(That’s €120/year for the first dog, €180/year<br />
for each additional one! Pay it at your local<br />
Finanzamt, if you haven’t done so already.)<br />
The new law will bring in a bunch of new<br />
intrusive measures. There’s the controversial<br />
silly sounding “dog driving licence” which will<br />
exempt you from keeping your dog on a lead<br />
everywhere (Leinenzwang) if you pass a test,<br />
the details of which are still murky. Professional<br />
dog walkers will be required to carry<br />
a similar certificate. And the near future will<br />
bring a database of every registered dog in<br />
Berlin containing data like their embedded<br />
chip number, pedigree and whether they’ve<br />
bitten someone. Yes, big data control has<br />
even reached the world of pets. All this is<br />
intended to get the city’s estimated 20,000<br />
unregistered dogs into the system. But for the<br />
100,000 law-abiding dog owners in Berlin, it<br />
sounds like the bureaucrat killjoys just want to<br />
dissuade you from having an animal.<br />
Speaking of<br />
pollution, next year<br />
you’ll feel the full<br />
force of my new<br />
favourite German<br />
word: Kot beutel<br />
mitführpflicht<br />
(doodoobagcarryingduty).<br />
53
Change language