Have you noticed an increase in the amount of dog poo littering your streets recently? If not, you’re in luck.
In a recent survey, almost half of the dog owners in Gloucester have admitted to avoiding picking up their dog poo when on a dog walk. Even more surprisingly, despite this being illegal, none of them have been hit with a fine.
While Gloucester’s dog poo figures are incredibly high, Wrexham has been dubbed as ‘dog poo capital of the UK,’ as astonishingly residents have estimated that they see about six different dog poos every day.
These survey results from Animal Friends have revealed that people in Leeds are hit with the most dog poo fines across the nation. Over a quarter of the dog owners from the city reported that they had at some point received a faeces related fine.
Second to Leeds was Coventry, with 25% of residents admitting they have been fined. Unsurprisingly Wrexham made the top 3, with 20%.
The average fine across Britain for dog-fouling is £262, a considerably high number when so many people claim to have received them.
What is being done to tackle the issue –
New laws are being put into place to tackle the UK’s dog poo problem.
In Kent a law has been introduced which will result in any dog-walker who is not carrying at least two dog poo bags receiving an immediate fine of £80. If the person fails to pay this, the fine can rise to as high as £1000.
The Animal Friends survey discovered that one in ten dog owners would be paying this fine if it were to be employed nationwide. That is a grand total of 850,000 dog owners.
According to the survey results, this new rule would not be unwelcome, as half of the people who answered would be happy with it in place.
This is an unsurprising result, as one in five people find themselves stepping in dog mess on at least one occasion in the last year alone.
Alongside this, change in the current law regarding dog fouling in public places may be needed, as 8% of dog owners who responded to the survey answered that they have managed to dodge any fees up until now.
Keeping it clean –
Ribble Valley Borough Council says it receives over 200 dog poo related complaints through the year, and spends about £30,000 disposing of the dog waste. This is a small amount compared to the 1,398 complaints that were made to Sheffield Council about dog faeces in 2016-2017.
Westley Pearson speaking on behalf of Animal Friends, said: “One of the major responsibilities of owning a pet is cleaning up after them. Dog dirt can be a health hazard if it’s not disposed of correctly, as it can lead to toxocariasis in humans. Not only that, if you step in it, chances are you will transfer it into public buildings, running the risk of spreading diseases, such as Parvo.”
