Swansea Dog owners get helping hand from Council to stamp out dog mess

City dog owners are getting a little extra help to tidy up so their pets leave behind only paw prints.

Parks staff and litter clearers will be giving away pill-shaped containers full of dog poo bags to owners they see over the next few weeks while they’re out and about.

The giveaway is the latest effort in the council’s Tidy Swansea litter campaign aimed at encouraging residents to do the right thing on litter and dog mess.

Mark Thomas, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “Residents have left us in no doubt that they want something done about dog poo.

“We’ve put up 500 dog waste bins around the city, introduced fixed penalty notices for offenders and last year we even sprayed dog poo pink to highlight the problem.

“So we’re doing our bit by handing out the handy-sized containers which owners can attach to their dog’s leads so they never forget to take poo bags with them on every walk.”

The council employs a dog poo team who pick up tonnes of mess every year, including bagged waste dumped by bins. Another problem are dog owners who allow their pets to foul playing fields, leaving parks’ staff or sports clubs to clear up the mess before games.

So, over the last year, the council has taken to spraying pavements with a temporary pink warning message to inconsiderate owners and in the last 18 months 26 £75 fixed penalty notices have been issued for dog fouling and all the owners have paid up rather than face prosecution.

Cllr Thomas said: “There isn’t any excuse for littering or for dog fouling because there are plenty of bins about. That’s why we’ll continue to take a firm line on both. Our message is simple enough: if you don’t litter you won’t face the fine.”