Council asks for respect after dog walker seen in Muslim burial area

Birmingham City Council has asked visitors to respect its cemeteries after a man was seen walking his dog in the Muslim burial area of Sutton New Hall Cemetery.

Dogs are not allowed in any of the council's cemeteries, except guide and assistance dogs, and signs at cemetery entrances say so.

A councillor's concerns

Councillor Majid Mahmood wrote to the council after the incident at the cemetery on Lindridge Road, Sutton Coldfield, asking it to check whether existing signs were clear and prominent enough.

"If suitable signage is not currently in place, I would respectfully request appropriate signs are installed at the cemetery entrances and, where necessary, at other prominent locations within the cemetery grounds," he wrote.

"This is particularly important given the sensitivity of the Muslim burial area. Families visiting the graves of their loved ones should be able to do so knowing the final resting places of those who have passed away are being treated with dignity and respect."

He stressed that he was raising the matter constructively. "My concern is not about confrontation with individuals, but about ensuring the council's regulations are clearly communicated, understood and appropriately upheld," he said.

The council's response

The council said: "We understand these concerns and stress to all visitors to Birmingham City Council's cemeteries that dogs are not allowed, although there is an exception for guide/assistant dogs. Additional signage has been placed and if staff see dog walkers they will remind them of the rules."

"While it is not possible for staff to be on site at all cemeteries at all times, we ask that people attending cemeteries respect that dogs are not permitted."

Why it matters

Cemeteries are places of grief and remembrance for people of all faiths and none. In many Muslim traditions, dogs are regarded as ritually unclean, which can make their presence near graves especially distressing for families. Other communities also have dedicated sections in Birmingham's cemeteries, reflecting the city's diversity.

Sutton New Hall is one of Birmingham's newer cemeteries, opened to provide burial space as older cemeteries in the city filled up. Like many large cemeteries, it has open grassed areas that can look like parkland, which may be why some visitors do not realise dogs are not allowed.

Respecting cemeteries

Birmingham's cemeteries ask all visitors to:

• keep dogs at home, unless they are assistance dogs;
• stick to paths where possible and avoid walking on graves;
• keep noise down and supervise children;
• take litter home.

Anyone with concerns about behaviour in a council cemetery can report it to the bereavement services team. The council says its staff will continue to remind dog walkers of the rules when they see them.