Dog Fouling: A danger to our kids that's got to go
24 July 2011 by GaryDay2011With the recent on and off good periods of weather, more and more people can be seen out walking their dogs.
Not a bad thing for the dogs themselves but arguably
not so good for our children. I say this
because of the apparent increase in piles of dog mess left on pavements, grass
verges, and in other public places by selfish and inconsiderate owners of late. With the school holidays now upon us it is
even more important that the few selfish and inconsiderate owners who are
responsible for this problem are either encouraged or forced to get a grip and
take on their full responsibilities which come with them owning a dog and this includes cleaning up
after it.Dog fouling is not only unpleasant it is dangerous. The biggest threat to health from dog excrement is Toxocariasis. This is an infection of the roundworm toxocara canis. These parasites eggs can be found in soil or sand contaminated with faeces. If swallowed, it could result in an infection that lasts between six and 24 months. Symptoms include eye disorders, vague ache, dizziness, nausea, asthma and epileptic fits.
Usually the eggs are ingested when passed to the mouth by the hands; however this has also been known to occur through contact with dogs or other inanimate objects including the wheels of toys and the soles of shoes. Infected soil samples are often found in public/communal/play areas and as a result, It is believed that Toxocariasis most commonly affects children between 18 months and five years. This alone should be reason enough for ALL dog owners to clear up after their dogs but apparently not.
In 2002 an organisation called ‘ENCAMS’ – short for Environmental Campaigns completed research into dog fouling and as a result compiled a profile of the typical inconsiderate dog owner. Based on numerous surveys between 2001 and 2002 ENCAMS believe they identified certain behavioural traits in dog foulers. Though the profile was a general one, it identified that the same comments and attitudes to irresponsible dog ownership were regularly evidenced. The profile showed that irresponsible dog owners would clear up after their dogs if they were shaken or shocked into doing so (my wife recently used this tactic successfully). ENCAMS called these types of dog owners “justifiers” as they justify their behaviour through ignorance or denial or responsibility.
The profile produced indicated that: Justifiers are more likely to be male than female; They’re found across all age ranges with a slightly higher proportion between the ages of 18 and 24; Justifiers are found to be of all social classes; They only admit that they allow their dog to foul in a public place when pressed; They all know that they could be fined, but the majority did not believe they would ever be caught.
Now the law clearly states that it is the responsibility of a dog’s owner or whoever is in charge of a dog to clear up any mess left by it and failure to do so could result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued against them, or subject to court proceedings a fine of up to £1000. It also states specifically, that ignorance by an owner of their dog fouling, or not having a suitable means of cleaning its mess up are not considered to be reasonable excuses for failing to clean up after their dog.
So what can be done to help deal with this problem; Ideally though most dog owners are thoughtful, considerate and responsible where this problem is concerned, it is the few selfish and inconsiderate owner’s inaction’s that need to be addressed. As a community we all need to play our part in helping each other and the authorities in ensuring any risk to our children is minimal and that unnecessary risk is removed altogether. If you happen to be with someone who is out with their dog and they don’t clean up after it, then try to convince them to do so. However, if you witness an incident and don’t know the dog’s owner, don’t confront them if you think that your personal safety might be at risk. Also if you have any information about a dog fouling and repeat offending dog owners you could report it to the authorities, for example the local council or a dog warden, for them to deal with it as they consider necessary.
To report an incident on line you could use the following link:
http://www.northlincs.gov.uk/AF/an/default.aspx/RenderForm/?F.Name=PTZmEPpmo8x
Or you could contact the Council on: 01724 297000
Either way I would encourage everybody to help to try to make it safer for our kids, and I say that as a dog owner myself.
Gary Day
If you would like add your own news article to Visit Scunthorpe, Login or sign up, its free and easy and you can start publishing your own content here, straight away.
Comments
Fans64- I do the "at least once a year vet's check and regular proven inoculations “for my dog and I agree with your inference that it should be a mandatory requirement of ownership. By doing so it aides with ensuring a dog is as healthy an owner thinks and as prevention is better than cure, and my dog never misses hers so I would not argue with that. Regarding the dog licence though, in the long term any such re-introduction may be arguably beneficial in reducing the numbers of inconsiderate or irresponsible owners, but I don’t believe it would address the more immediate to mid-term problem for which something also needs to be one to try to address it. In regard to this time frame, I am of the view that persuasion and education should be the primary tools used with enforcement as a last resort support measure (where it is proven to be justifiable to do so). I also believe that the Dog Wardens/local authority take a similar view, something I hoped I’d portrayed in my post (Obviously not in some cases from what I’ve read).
Thank you for your input.
First comment to fans64,
How would a dog license stop ignorant and irresponsible people allowing their
pets to foul and then them not pick it up?
Gary,
from your post what you are suggesting is people call the authorities if you
suspect someone hasn’t cleaned up after a dog has fouled? That’s a bit right
wing isn’t it? Isn’t that a bit big brother?
Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m all for doing ones civic duty and reporting
CRIMES being committed like an assault or a theft or damage being done but what
you are suggesting is people who leave ‘dog poo’ on the ground be shopped to
the authorities. It’s not really criminal behavior is it?
What next Gary? Phoning the police because you saw someone park in an irresponsible
location. How about someone who throws a 'fag end' on the floor out in public, Ooh
here is a good one what about telling the authorities you saw a child throw a
empty sweet wrapper from a pram and the lazy ignorant mother doesn’t pick it
up.
Or Gary, you could follow the person and dump it in their garden see how they
like it, or even film them not cleaning up and put it on the internet to shame
them. There are ways of dealing with irresponsible behavior without running off
to the authorities. It is not the job of government to punish irresponsible behavior.
It’s the government’s job to punish people who commit crimes and when they can
stop crimes, not pathetic offences like this created to make money for the
people in power.
Sorry mate but people who are just as eager to run off to the authorities to
'tell' on someone for breach of these pathetic offences are just as counterproductive
to society because they think it’s the governments job to do everything for
them.
Bollocks! This subject is getting me wound up now. There shouldn’t be offences
made like this, and the only reason they were created in the first place was so
the authorities could generate extra income/taxes.
If you haven’t worked out how its done then you and other people need to wake up.
Step1. The gov. creates a new law that makes it an offence to do something that until the law was passed was perfectly legal.
Step2. The gov. goes to the banks and tells them they are about to bring in this new law and that the new offences that the people will break will generate lots of fines and money for the gov.
Step3. The bank knows that the new law will create loads of
new criminals because its something that everyone already does so they know
that lots of people will pay lots of fines, so they lend a big chunk of money
to the gov. that we pay for through taxation and they spend on something we
know nothing about
This is how the local/national authorities get money and it has nothing to do
with righting a wrong. If it were about punishment you could tell the dog owner
that if they are caught again not only will the dog be taken from them but they
have to pay for the dog’s disposal, but then that would be over the top
punishment.
Are you not sick and tired of offences that carry a 'fine only punishment' and don’t
you wonder why it is just a fine. A fine that can be levied over and over again
because the council can do it over and over again. It’s got nothing to do with
punishing people because rich people can pay those fines until the cows come
home so it’s hardly a deterrent to people who can afford to pay fines.
I can’t stand you big brother right wing people that think the population
should be controlled with these shitty laws that are there to make governments
richer and the populace poorer. I suppose there are some socialists out there
who will think it’s good to do this because the wealth then gets redistributed
so you might have allies there Gary. I wonder how long before people fully realize
this and vote in some people that can U-turn the whole system.
Neil,
Thank you for your input, though I won’t directly answer any of the points you raise as it appears all you have wanted to do is that which you have done, which is attempt to hijack a non political article and attempt to politicise it. That is you’re right as a forum member, as it is mine not to comment on your post any further.
With a licence you ensure the responsible only get a licence and a dog
I think responsible dog ownership should be encouraged.
The local council have dog wardens, and also promote "Good Dog Day" each year which is a fun event to take your dog to.
As far as dog mess goes, the council provide bins on most routes (certainly where I live) taken by dog walkers which do seem to be emptied on an daily basis, Monday to Friday. Centrainly the bulls field area is well catered for with specific dog bin's so there really is no excuse, the only criticism that could be leveled around the bulls field area is that there is a void of "normal" bins so the field is covered in more litter than dog crap.
There are also some bins down the beck (carpark, bridge and valley view snickets) which leaves no excuses there either. Going towards the steel works however, there is only 1 bin located at Winchester Close. While I'm not excusing dog walkers in this area, there is a lot of rubbish and mess between Winchester Close and the works so more bins would doubtless be of use in that area.
A good example (I think) where the placement of bins has had a positive effect is in Central Park which seems much improved following recent refurbishment and the improvements in street furniture.
At the end of the day, regardless of whether there are bins or not, responsible owner's should take their dog's mess with them, there are plenty of walks where there are more than enough bins so if you don't want to carry a bag full of dog crap far, plan your route accordingly.
Gary,
With all due respect your article was not 'NON-POLITICAL'
when you start writing about The Law and Fixed penalty notices and Fines you
are talking politics and how politics deals with this type of issue.
Fans,
"With a license you ensure the responsible only get a license
and a dog"
I don’t agree with this statement and I would be surprised if a majority agreed
too. How many people have driving licenses that drive recklessly and
irresponsibly?
Giving a piece of paper to someone does not confirm the person you are giving
it to is responsible, and I don’t think for a second that a man of your intelligence
is naive enough to believe that.
If you would like to leave a comment about this article, Login or sign up now
Please Note
Views expressed on this site are those of individual posters, who by making these posts indemnify Visit Scunthorpe and its operators of any legal responsibility or obligation.
Please respect the privacy of others, if someone gives you infomation that you use in your post, please don't identify them.
Visit Scunthorpe is North Lincolnshire's only truly independent, non commercial, community news web site.
Established in January 2010 we have lots of members with a wide range of views who all contribute
independently with articles of their own.
You won't find dozens of adverts covering our site, or some poor attempt to promote local business services under the guise of offering a community service.
Here on VisitScunthorpe we are interested in just one thing, building an online community which is representative of the people of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire and the surrounding area.
Paul. Founder Visit Scunthorpe.
How it Works
If you would like to have the ability to add articles and comments to Visit Scunthorpe then all you need to do is sign up with a valid email address for an account. This is free, your email address is confidential and we don't send out spam emails.
Once you've completed the sign up then you are free to post and comment on well... pretty much anything, we just have some basic civilised rules to prevent people from inciting violence, hatred or making individual attacks.
If you have a web site or directory which covers either independent news and blogging, or is related to North Lincolnshire or Scunthorpe then get in touch to set up a reciprocal link.
Reply Report