Dog fouling 'out of control' in West Fife
Gary Fitzpatrick • Published 25 Nov 2011 08:55
18 Comments
DOG fouling in West Fife is "out of control" and needs to be tackled with urgency says a Labour councillor.
Kelty's Alex Rowley said, "This problem is getting worse and is a blight on our streets that must be tackled and we need a war of action to challenge the irresponsible dog owners who are to blame for the problem.
"The council used to provide over one million biodegradable dog bags every year to encourage dog owners but they stopped this despite the success it was having.
"They then took street orderlies off their beats and put them into roaming squads and they are failing to apprehend the irresponsible owners and in doing so failing in their responsibility to keep our streets clean.
"All services that focus on the environment at community level should be brought under a single community services management at area level.
"This will bring about management savings that can then be reinvested into frontline staffing.
"We need action that will send out a clear message that not cleaning up your dogs' mess is not acceptable and will result in prosecution.
"I want us to use surveillance cameras to gain the evidence to take the action needed and we should be prosecuting those responsible."
MSP and West Fife villages SNP councillor Bill Walker agreed that dog fouling was an "appalling problem" but believed that has always been the case - even when Labour ran the council.
"It's too easy for Alex Rowley to blame it all on the council again," he said.
"Dog fouling comes up at every community council meeting and has been a problem since I became a councillor five years ago.
"I was at the Torryburn and Newmills Community Council meeting this week and this was raised with dog fouling on the coastal path.
"Unselfish dog owners who refuse to pick up after their pets create this problem and I suspect it's one of these things that will always be with us.
"As well as not picking up the dog dirt, there are also many people who let their dogs roam the streets all day.
"Just a few dogs can cause a lot of problems and not surprisingly it upsets those considerate owners who do pick up the dirt.
"On the point about poo bags, if people can afford a dog they can afford a few pence for poo bags.
"At a time when we're having to look at making cuts to services is Alex Rowley suggesting we take money away from social work, for example, to tackle dog fouling?"
This article appeared in Dunfermline Press 23 Nov 11
Have your say. Post a comment on this article.
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jesstd
34 posts
Nov 25, 09:21
Report commentIsn't this down to lazy scumbag dog owners who cannot be bothered to clean up their messes? My remedy would be to rub their noses in it (the owner's, not the animal's). Dog fouling is unlikely to be their only community failing ... antisocial behaviour and disorder, drug abuse and so on.
Recommend?
Yes 28
No 2
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******
Nov 25, 12:09
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NEILYJ
90 posts
Nov 25, 13:21
Report commentnuhin worse than dog turds, pure whitey min
Recommend? Yes 4
No 1
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Blackadder
257 posts
Nov 25, 13:32
Report commentjesstd you have summed up the majority of people who allow this to happen brilliantly. Their attitude is never going to change, they are the same ones who see fit to drop litter on the floor and be proud of it, we have one such poster on here, who fastidiously believes that it is the council's job because they pay council tax. Some peoples values and standards are with the dog muck - on the floor.
Recommend? Yes 19
No 2
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******
Nov 25, 20:22
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******
Nov 26, 01:27
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Tradesman
94 posts
Nov 26, 09:32
Report commentContinually finding dog deposits in my front garden I was unaware of who the guilty owner was; I examined the garden after I witnessed each passing dog owner to no avail.
After a windy evening I was out picking up windblown debris when I witnessed a woman and her dog in my front garden permitting her dog to use my garden as a dog toilet.
When I challenged this woman her defence was that her dog needed to go; I asked her;
Do you consider you are in charge of the dog or the dog in charge of you?
Why do you not clean up after your dog?
She then responded that the dog chooses where it wants to go!
I informed the woman that she was clearly not in control of her dog and if it happened again I would inform the police of her action and her defiance having been informed that her behaviour was unacceptable.
I additionally informed her that I believed because of her repeated offending behaviour clearly she was not a fit person to be the owner of a dog when she permitted her dog to control her behaviour and that she failed to clean up after her dog.
The fouling stopped.
I am the owner of two dogs, fully under my control!
Recommend? Yes 29
No 0
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******
Nov 26, 11:18
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beaker
80 posts
Nov 26, 11:31
Report commentthe awakening, councillors stirring from their slumber as elections loom.
Recommend? Yes 10
No 1
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supersonic
217 posts
Nov 26, 15:13
Report commentI've mentioned it before but, the cycle path starting at William street is covered in horse manure. I think the horse riders should be made to clean it up as the dog owners do. Also the woods next to duloch park is quite bad for bags that dog owners have actually taken the time to clean up then decide to throw away. The amount of bags you see hanging from trees is ridiculous!
Recommend? Yes 11
No 2
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supersonic
217 posts
Nov 26, 15:21
Report commentIt's a shame that a minority of dog owners do this! I cycle everyday and find that the majority of dog walkers I come across have their dogs under control and are on top of the situation!
Recommend? Yes 9
No 1
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logster
28 posts
Nov 27, 12:08
Report commentHow nice of Mr Walker to mention about making cuts,Surely having two wage packets from the public purse is a disgrace,over £16 000 for councillor and over £50 000 for MSP expenses not included.What interests me is that he has an assistant doing his councillors duties,I assume free of charge.Do the decent thing Mr Walker and hand your councillors wage back.
Recommend? Yes 6
No 3
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moto12
5 posts
Nov 28, 22:59
Report commentWhat on earth is councillor Rowley talking about with his statement :
"They then took street orderlies off their beats and put them into roaming squads and they are failing to apprehend the irresponsible owners and in doing so failing in their responsibility to keep our streets clean. "
I'm sorry Councillor Rowley but at the moment its not the responsibilty of the street orderlies to actually apprehend irresponsible dog owners and furthermore it never has been.
This statement is nothing but misinformation and you sadly have not to checked your facts..
For goodness sake what would you expect a street orderly do to an apprehended irresponsible dog owner anyway????
Recommend? Yes 12
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DinoSaur
49 posts
Nov 29, 21:41
Report commentThe vast majority of dog owners pick up. The few that do not spoil it for everyone.
However, what is the use of Dog Fouling legislation when;
At Dunfermline District Court a person was found not guilty as the JP took the word of the dog owner before the word of the warden.
A case was reported to the Procurator Fiscal at Dunfermline for a neighbour constantly allowing his dog to foul in the garden of the registered invalid next door. The Procurator Fiscal decided to take No Proceedings
More recently a lady from Inverkeithing was reported, having been seen by two wardens to stand and wait whilst her dog fouled. She walked off. Refused to pay her fine, and the Procurator Fiscal decided again to take No Proceedings, saying (when challenged) that 'it was not in the public interest' to pursue conviction.
So yes, we can berate the dog owners, and even the Council, but what is the point when our courts are ignoring it?
Recommend? Yes 5
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jesstd
34 posts
Nov 30, 16:47
Report commentTake photos of them and stick them on the web. Shame them.
Recommend? Yes 5
No 1
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SmarmyGit
316 posts
Dec 1, 00:06
Report commentFind out the perpetrators are, put their dog's dirt in an envelope and post it through their letterbox, that'll soon get the message!
Recommend? Yes 6
No 1
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Geedoc
23 posts
Dec 1, 15:30
Report commentI have spoken with my dog about this and can now advise all readers that it's not the fault of the dogs...My dog;who's a bit of an expert on dog poo,tells me it's all about communication.He himself has 'phoned Cllr Rowley to express concern about the state of our parks and open spaces.He has also spoken with many other dogs who share his concern.The root of the problem is that far too many dogs have very badly trained owners who are just too stupid to respond to their dogs requests not to embarrass them. Very clearly,the fact that the Council doesn't provide bags, and the street orderlies are only driving around to keep order (????,one wonders) does not deter people from buying a dog.
If these social deviants have no concern for their fellow humans, they could at least think of the dogs..they don't like standing in it either...
Recommend? Yes 5
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Calimero
70 posts
Dec 2, 10:58
Report commentAlex Rowley said "The council used to provide over one million biodegradable dog bags every year to encourage dog owners but they stopped this despite the success it was having." Why should the council have to provide bags for doy poo? Surely if you can afford to have a dog and pay for food and vet bills etc, you can buy your own disposible bags? If you cant afford to buy something so cheap, and are too lazy to clean up after your dog then your shouldnt have a dog in the first place?!?!
Recommend? Yes 5
No 0
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PeterArronsen
1 post
Dec 5, 21:59
Report commentMy colleague and I agree that this is an absolute disgrace.
The situation is now so bad that we manage a blog on this very subject.
If you are serious about this subject, please visit our blog and become part of the solution:
http://dogfoulingandredrubberbands.blogspot.com/
Thank you!
Peter
Recommend? Yes 3
No 0
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davenicky
4 posts
Dec 15, 09:36
Report commentI witness people in the glen on a daily basis, dogs off the lead, crapping without and sometimes with, the owners knowledge, if you point it out to them, they pretend they haven't seen or just ignore you.
Recommend? Yes 2
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bicyclebob
159 posts
Dec 17, 16:44
Report commentThe glen is getting worse with dogs.Being a regular user of ther glen,I often get dogs running up to me,and the owners do not say a thing.A total ban on dogs is the only way,and I am a dog owner.
Recommend? Yes 0
No 1
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tinamacM
1 post
Jan 27, 15:56
Report commentIt is pathetic the amount of time and money wasted on this subject when there are so many important issues you could spend your time on; like registering your disapproval of our governments continued war mongering.
I don't own a dog but I would like to know how many dog owners agree with the dog fouling laws (through secret ballot because they have been cowed into compliance). - If a minority agree with them then the laws should be abandoned - Policing this issue wastes tax payers money! There is so much excrement around us, in case you hadn't noticed everything poos, cats, fish, birds, cows horses, or should we put nappies on them all?
Given the state of the economy, we will no doubt set more sensible priorities in the near future e.g. Spending tax payers money on keeping a hospital ward open and providing a good medical service or counting dog excrement?
The number of dog owners and/or the amount of food the animals get will surely decrease once the recession takes hold in any case.
Recommend? Yes 0
No 1
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