Whitworth councillors call for action over dog dirt

8:04pm Sunday 27th April 2008

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COUNCILLORS are calling for tougher action against dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets.

The problem has been escalating over the past few weeks in Whitworth with problems areas being children's parks including Britannia, Weir and Knowlsey Crescent playgrounds, according to councillors.

Coun Alan Neal is so angered by the problem that he said he would make irresponsible dog owners eat their dog's dirt and fine them up to £10,000.

He added: "Dog dirt will send children blind of they get it on their hands. It's a really serious problem.

"If I caught someone letting their dog foul on a public path or somewhere near where kids play, I would make them eat it. They wouldn't be doing that again."

County councillor Sean Serridge said: "Over the last few weeks we have been knocking on doors about this issue which comes up again and again.

"We've been asking the council for more dog bins and new warning signs for the local areas.

"The amount of dog dirt in some of the kids' parks is disgusting.

"I'm a dog owner and I wouldn't dream of letting my dog do its business and then expect someone else to clean it up.

"It's a shame there's a few who give dog owners a bad name.

"Coun Neal should be making the council use ther lawful powers instead of making ridiculous suggestions which are not enforceable by the council or police."

For the last few months, Rossendale's Animal Warden, has been encouraging responsible dog ownership by handing out praise postcards to dog owners who clean up after their pets, as part of an initiative to reduce dog fouling.

All of the people who received a card were entered into a local draw and Heather Gooding was picked as the winner in the Caught Doing Right Campaign.

Heidi Finlay, the neighbourhood environmental action team manager, said: "Dog fouling is a serious problem and can cause severe damage to people's heath and the health of other animals. Last year alone we estimate we cleaned up and collected 18 tonnes of dog fouling.

"As a council we do our best to clean up the problem and we discourage irresponsible behaviour through educational campaigns and as a last resort by issuing fixed penalties to anyone caught not cleaning up."