Incidents prompt call for dog ban at Lewes farmers market

Organizers of the Historic Lewes Farmers Market are asking the city for the authority to ban dogs from its seasonal market held on Saturdays in George H.P. Smith Park.

Eleanor Shue, HLFM executive director, made the request to Lewes Mayor and City Council during a Jan. 25 workshop.

“The request is being made for the economic interest of our market vendors, and most importantly, in the interest of public health, as we are selling food, and the public safety of our customers coming to the market,” Shue said.

The market’s permit from the city says it must allow dogs. Shue said the ban would not include service dogs.

She said the HLFM has seen a massive increase in dogs brought to the market, from an average of 94 per session to as many as 170 on high-volume days. She said the market averages about 1,200 people per week.

Shue said organizers have posted signs at the market outlining safety rules and have trained volunteers to educate dog owners. But, she said, the market was no longer feeling like a safe place.

“We found we had an incident every Saturday: dogs urinating on market tents, on customer’s legs; we had dogs fighting other dogs, and this past year we had a 6-year-old kid bitten by a dog. That was the line for us,” Shue said.

Shue said they contacted state animal control to handle the biting incident.

The ban would only apply to the area used by the HLFM each Saturday morning. People would still be able to take their dogs on the paths that border the market and in the rest of Smith Park.

The HLFM already has approval from the Cape Henlopen School District to ban dogs from its fall market, which is held on the grounds of Lewes Elementary School.

“Nobody here is anti-dog. It’s a public safety issue,” said Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba.

Mayor and council will add the request to the agenda for its Monday, Feb. 12 regular meeting.

The Historic Lewes Farmers Market will open for the 2024 season at 8 a.m., Saturday, May 4.