Action day to raise awareness of dog fouling

CARMARTHENSHIRE County Council has been working alongside communities in the county to support a charity’s campaign to encourage dog owners to pick up after their dogs.

One of Wales’ leading environmental charities, Keep Wales Tidy, organised a day of action on Thursday, October 2, to raise awareness and educate people on the dangers of dog fouling.

As part of the campaign, council enforcement officers, Tidy Towns officers, Keep Wales Tidy officers and community leaders and volunteers came together and took to some of the streets and parks in the county to spray dog fouling with bright yellow chalk paint to highlight the volume of the issue.

Locations in the county included Pendine; Laugharne; Whitland; Llangunnor Park; People’s Park in Llanelli; Ammanford park and Llandeilo park.

As well as drawing attention to the issue, officers were on hand to offer expert advice and dog fouling bags to the public.

Despite an overall improvement in dog fouling on the streets of Wales, according to the All Wales cleanliness survey (LEAMS) 2014, it still remains a serious and dangerous problem for many neighbourhoods in Wales.

Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Anyone that is caught failing to clean up after their dog in a public place will be fined.

“Not only is it extremely unpleasant if you step in it, but dog mess could lead to serious health problems in some circumstances. Apart from dog mess carrying harmful bugs which can lead to infection, asthma and even blindness, all sorts of worm and bacteria can live in soil long after the dog mess has wasted away.

“The vast majority of dog owners make the right decision by taking plenty of dog bags out on their walks, picking up after their dog and disposing of it in a bin or by taking it home and disposing of it there.”

Chris Delaney, clerk of Laugharne Township Council and Pendine Community Council said: “Despite all our efforts, there are still irresponsible dog owners who do not pick up the mess left by their dogs on Pendine Beach and Laugharne foreshore. These are attractive areas, visited by thousands of people from inside of and outside of Carmarthenshire.”

Dan Snaith, Carmarthenshire Project Officer for Keep Wales Tidy said: “It was great to see officers and locals out in force to help with the awareness raising campaign. We hope that the bright yellow spots will alert people to the issues in certain areas, and hopefully we can re-visit the same sites next year to see if the dog fouling has reduced.”

The council is appealing to residents to help catch offenders by reporting dog fouling incidents under the ‘Dog Watch’ scheme.

To report dog fouling please call Carmarthenshire Direct on 01267 234567 or at ilocal.carmarthenshire.gov.uk