Dog poo fouled footpaths

[Snowball]

Whilst looking on the Stockport MBC website for FOI request information I came across some useful stuff about dog fouling.

There is a page where statistics are reported for the number of complaints about fouling, broken down by month and region.

http://www.stockport.gov.uk/services/environment/envhealth/animalwelfare/dogwardenservice/dogfouling/dogfoulinginyourarea/

You will see that for the Marple area there have been relatively few complaints compared to other regions. I would expect that the Dog Wardens would pay attention to those areas with high levels of complaints.
 
So part of the answer is perhaps in our own hands and we need to be registering our complaints with the Council. Only three complaints for the Marple region were made in Feb 2015, but there have been more people on this Forum alone expressing their concern. This is a link for making your complaint

http://www.stockport.gov.uk/services/environment/envhealth/animalwelfare/dogwardenservice/dogfouling/dogfoulingcomplaints

[willow]

Compstall Road in Marple Bridge and Compstall village are a disgrace too. You can't walk along the pavement without continually looking where you are walking.
Don't know what the answer is but something definitely needs to be done about it.

[Snowball]

I'm pleased to see that I'm not the only one upset by the state of Marple's pavements and open areas.

I want to know what Stockport MBC are doing to address the problem in their Council area and particularly in Marple, so I plan to submit a FOI request in the next few days to see if I can get a few answers.

[chicken lady]

Disgusting - the owners not the dogs. I can only hope that those owners have it trampled into their carpets at some point! The difficulty in catching people is that often, if they see someone watching, especially someone in uniform, they do pick it up, although as I've previously mentioned, the worst culprits in our village are a police officer and a PCSO.

[admin]

This thread went wandering off a bit talking about horse muck, which is fine, but I've moved those posts to a separate thread and would like to bring this one back on track.

Here are a couple of images taken this morning of what we were confronted with on our task in the park today.

This is disgusting and there must be a way to stop it.

We need people to be caught allowing their dogs to do it and not picking up and for them to be fined heavily.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Dave]

Sometimes I picked up poo that had been left by other, irresponsible owners, particularly on the rugby club field

That is so antisocial.  There are some places where no-one should ever leave dog poo, and that is one of them. 

I now live in a very rural area, and find that very few of the local people pick up the poo, and the verges of our lane are now dog poo alley, not very nice when you have to leap onto the verge to avoid the tractors! The 2 worst culprits here are a Police officer and a PCSO, says it all really.

The laws about dog fouling apply to pavements, footpaths, parks, sports field, and roads where there is a speed limit of 50 mph or less.   They do not apply to bridleways, byways, and country lanes where there is no speed limit.  The rule there is quite simple - watch your step!   

[Tricky]

I didn't mention the Police nor did I mention anyone being arrested..?

The point I was trying to make is that whilst SMBC has a couple of dedicated dog wardens who may occasionally visit the area, Marple has 2 patrolling PCSOs who are authorised to issue fixed penalty fines. 

I always carry multiple bags when walking my dog.. so if and when people use the excuse that they haven't got one.. hey presto!

 
I've found it less confrontational saying something like "I have a spare bag for you" rather than "Oi clear up after your dog" etc..

[Melancholyflower]

Tricky I'm afraid this is the age-old problem with anti-social behaviour of any kind.

It stands to reason that ignorant dog owners are also far more likely to be aggressive when confronted about their actions by a non-police officer. Hence some of the earlier comments from people who are brave enough to confront these individuals, and obviously put themselves at risk over what is a really trivial issue. Same with people who drop litter.

The odd arrest might make a difference, but as Dave points out the police really have bigger and better things to do. Education is the only way forward to stop behaviour like this.

[Tricky]

Just to say.. It's not only dog wardens who can issue fines.. PCSO's can issue and also other Environmental officers from the Council

[Dave]

Hmm, so it's the most complained about issue and there has never been a prosecution for dog fouling!

In-ter--est-ing!

But not sur-pri-sing!  I read the other day that there are only half the number of police officers n Greater Manchester, compared with ten years ago.  So it's just possible that they have got more important things to do! 

[My login is Henrietta]

This was highlighted recently when we had snow. The little brown parcels really showed up then.

When we moved here several years ago, I wrote to our local Councillor. Her reply was interesting, she said it's the most complained thing about Marple.

The other thing that really, really annoys me is the habit of dog owners actually taking the time to pick up theirs dog's mess and then flinging the bag into trees, over peoples fences, into hedges, into the canal.  Oooh I can feel my blood pressure rising now.

I too have had an  unfortunate  instance where my young nephew was  playing out in our local park, had it all over his shoes, luckily I was close and smelt in just in time.  Those shoes went in the bin and he was carried home.

Hmm, so it's the most complained about issue and there has never been a prosecution for dog fouling!

In-ter--est-ing!

It scared me when I got my first council tax bill when I came back to Marple - nearly twice the amount I'd been paying when I lived elsewhere. What are they spending my money on and what are my elected representatives doing? This is both a health issue and an environmental issue.

[Dave]

Recently someone left a poo-filled bag on the pavement near our house -I found it when I trod on it in the dark. Luckily it didn't burst.

This habit used to puzzle me too, until someone explained that some dog owners leave the bagged-up poo by the side of the road or path to pick up on their way back from the walk, rather than carrying it all the way. Seems quite sensible, but the problem is that sometimes they forget about it!

[admin]

My real comment was in response to Admin I thought there had been some prosecution's actually but I will ask and find out.

As I understand it there have been prosecutions in Marple but I don't know how many. It would be interesting to find out if you can please. I'm aware of one on the Middlewood Way in the last year or two as there was a notice posted on a lamppost to say so. However, I was talking about Memorial Park - I have been assured by the council that there has never been a prosecution or fine issued for dog fouling in the park, which I find amazing.

Also question to Admin which I am sorry I don't know where to post it. ----- Why has my "Show unread posts since last visit" link stopped working. It stopped about a month ago. It does however work on my PC at work but not at home.

There is a section for Technical Questions and Support here: http://www.marple-uk.com/smf/index.php?board=5.0

And I've created a new thread for you here: http://www.marple-uk.com/smf/index.php?topic=6192.0

[wheels]

I just don't understand why anyone would want to keep a dog in their house at all so I am with all the posters here although I must say I only ever see people  picking it up not leaving it.

My real comment was in response to Admin I thought there had been some prosecution's actually but I will ask and find out.

Also question to Admin which I am sorry I don't know where to post it. ----- Why has my "Show unread posts since last visit" link stopped working. It stopped about a month ago. It does however work on my PC at work but not at home.

[chicken lady]

 I don't live in Marple now, but when I did I walked my dog either down the Middlewood way, or up Stockport road and round the Memorial Park. I always picked up poo, put it in a bin or took it home and put it in my dustbin. Sometimes I picked up poo that had been left by other, irresponsible owners, particularly on the rugby club field on the Middlewood Way. I now live in a very rural area, and find that very few of the local people pick up the poo, and the verges of our lane are now dog poo alley, not very nice when you have to leap onto the verge to avoid the tractors! The 2 worst culprits here are a Police officer and a PCSO, says it all really.