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Britain’s
parks and paths a dog’s breakfast
Councils
are not doing enough to crack down on those who allow their
dogs to foul in parks and on footpaths; and prosecutions have
plummeted to just two per local authority per year, while complaints
from the public have soared.
These are the findings of a report published this week by Keep
Britain Tidy, which states that while just 754 people had been
prosecuted by respondents through the courts over the last three
years (191 last year compared to 301 in 1999-2000), councils
have received an estimated 226,000 complaints about dog fouling
during that same period.
The survey, which questioned local councils in England, also
found that 64% of respondents hadn’t prosecuted anyone
at all last year, 57% had issued no verbal warnings and 49%
no written warnings against errant owners, while 16% only ever
cleared up dog mess if someone complained about it.
While 67% had adopted a fixed penalty scheme to dish out on
the spot fines of £50 to those caught allowing their dogs
to foul, nearly 28% of these hadn’t actually issued any
fines. And while some respondents provided up to 200 dog bins
in their borough, 60% didn’t place any on their streets
(despite the fact that fouling is found on 19% of streets in
busy housing areas) and 67% failed to supply them on footpaths.
Nearly all councils (94%) do at least employ a dog warden -
whose job is specifically geared towards responding to issues
surrounding dogs. Although 92% of respondents are committed
to educating their residents about responsible ownership and
run campaigns, 84% employ only one or two wardens and 21% of
these spend no time at all on enforcement, devoting the bulk
of their time to dealing with strays.
Unsightly
These
disappointing results are given extra significance by the
results of another Keep Britain Tidy study of urban parks
which found fouling at 23% of areas including close to entrances,
next to busy walkways and around trees. Not only is this unsightly;
it is a health hazard since up to 16,000 people per annum
get Toxocariasis, a disease contracted by contact with fouling
generated by un-wormed dogs or contaminated soil and which
causes 50 cases of serious eye infection, each year.
Keep Britain Tidy is aiming to tackle the dog fouling problem
by running a campaign to change the behaviour of irresponsible
owners. The posters, which contain the organisation’s
most controversial visual ever was launched by actor Ricky
Tomlinson at a press conference last week.
The posters will be placed in over a thousand locations across
England and Northern Ireland.
The central theme - to shock errant owners into cleaning up
after their dog - was conceived after market research with
this group, revealed that only hard-hitting messages would
do the trick.
The organisation is also backing Government plans to reform
the legislation on dog fouling, so that councils can keep
any money raised from fines and plough it back into enforcement
and education campaigns (fines currently go to the Treasury).
“Our research suggests as many as 4.6 million owners
are allowing their pets to foul, citing reasons such as “you
can’t watch your dog all of the time” and “everybody
else lets their dog do it”” said Keep Britain Tidy
Chief Executive, Alan Woods. “Yet it is a fact that 95%
of the public find dog dirt unacceptable and with the added
public health risk, we clearly have to see a change in the
attitude of the irresponsible owner and a much greater determination
on the part of councils to prosecute those who allow their
dogs to foul.
For our part, we will continue to press home the message that
dog mess is morally unacceptable to millions of dog lovers
and indeed the vast majority of society and will also liaise
with Government to make sure the law is workable. The rest
is down to councils to use the legislation and to every dog
owner to make sure they clean up after their pet.”
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