The cost of dog fouling
Monday, May 26 2008
Despite risking fines of up to £500, there are still a number of dog owners out there who are not following the advice to Bag It, Tie It, BIN IT!
Scottish Borders Council and Lothian and Borders Police are now taking tougher action on the issue. SBC has taken on a new Senior Environmental Warden and four more agency staff to tackle the issue. These people, in addition to the existing dog wardens, community wardens, parks staff and community police, are patrolling the Borders to deal with the problem.
The extra staff are also taking a tougher stance with offenders. Since the start of April at total of 12 notices have been issued, with eight of those being issued in the last week alone. For one persistent offender, the consequences could be further reaching, as their case is going to court.
Michael Wynne of Lothian and Borders Police said: “Those who do not clean up after their dogs can only be described as irresponsible. This is a health hazard and I consider it anti social behaviour which will be acted upon. We will assist Scottish Borders Council staff combat this problem.”
Councillor Len Wyse, Executive Member for Environmental Services, said: “There has been much publicity regarding dog fouling in the last few months. If we can all tackle the issue together and make dog fouling socially unacceptable, we can make a difference. I will continue to campaign for everyone to play their part – the Council is increasing its resources and, as you can see, is taking a tougher stance, but we can all help. Let’s make our public areas somewhere that our children can play without fear of picking up diseases due to careless dog owners.”
If any members of the public witness any disregard of the rules or are aware of a persistent offender, please report the details to the Council on 0800 376 1030 providing as much information as possible.
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