Dog fouling a human problem
Dog fouling is not a dog problem but a human one, the children at Educate Together NS were told recently when Dogs Trust Ireland launched ‘The Big Scoop’ dog fouling awareness campaign.
It aims to encourage dog owners to take responsibility and pick up after their dogs, and in an effort to encourage communities to tackle the issue of dog fouling, the charity will take part in Tidy Towns 2018, the 60th anniversary of the competition, in the Special Award Category. The charity is eager to see communities demonstrate the most creative and sustainable way of dealing with the issue of dog fouling.
As part of the nationwide campaign, the Education and Community team at Dogs Trust will distribute packs to participating primary schools across the country and deliver ‘The Big Scoop’ workshops, in some of these schools, educating some 28,500 children about the importance of cleaning up after their dogs.
Paul Cleary of Dogs Trust and his dog Magic were in Mullingar Educate Together working with students to teach them to be your best friend’s friend by cleaning up after they foul as they can’t do it themselves!
Ruth Maxwell, Westmeath County Council’s environmental awareness officer, said: “In conjunction with the school visits the council stencilled the footpath with reminders for dog walkers to clean up after their dogs and prevent dog fouling.
“The footpath adjacent to Mullingar Educate Together is part of the Slí na Sláinte walking route in Mullingar and the stencils will be a reminder to dog owners to pick up after their dogs.”
It is planned that the stencils will be placed in other areas in the county in the coming weeks.
The cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr John Shaw, said: “This is a welcome initiative and the workshops by Dogs Trust and the introduction of the Green Dog Walkers by the council is a combined effort to tackling the problem.
“The stencilling of the footpaths will be a reminder of our duties as dog owners and I encourage people to take the pledge and sign up to the Green Dog Walkers scheme and make a difference in their areas.”
Recent research carried out by Behaviour & Attitudes for Dogs Trust revealed that seven in 10 people claimed to have walked in dog poop on the street, 43% came across dog poop in children’s parks, 24% rolled a buggy through dog poop, 20% rolled a bicycle through it and 10% rolled wheelchairs through it.
Not only is dog poop an unpleasant sight and smell, but it is unhygienic and can spread disease. It has been estimated that a single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million faecal coliform bacteria1, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhoea, intestinal illness, and serious kidney disorders in humans.
It can also contain nasty bacteria such as E coli and parasites like roundworm, the larvae of which can cause loss of vision.
The charity are urging the public to always pick up after their dog using a poo bag or a scooping device before disposing of it in any bin and then to wash their hands when they get home.
Remember that cleaning up after your dog is the law and owners who don’t are guilty of an offence and can be fined if the poop is left behind.
• dogstrust.ie/TheBigScoop