Public Health Threat No. 2 (Debate)

Sat 13 Nov 2021, 15:33

Rosemary, Responsible dog owners are fully aware that it is a criminal offence not to pick up after their dog and as WODC states, the waste can be placed in one of three public bins or in their own bins.  Whilst I may walk some distance with my dog after she has done her business, bins are there for that purpose, so as to dispose of it.  Dog owners who are picking up are not committing a crime by putting it in the public waste bins. As Gregory said there are many responsible dog owners in Charlbury so please do not tar us all with the same brush.

Sat 13 Nov 2021, 10:28

Copied and Pasted [word for word] from the West Oxfordshire District Council Website

Dog fouling

Dog fouling is when a person permits a dog in their charge to foul in a public place and fails to clean it away immediately after. Failure to clear up dog fouling on public land is classed as a criminal offence and anyone found failing in their duty can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

A public place refers to land to which the public has access to within built up areas of the district, such as roads, gutters, footpaths, verges, pedestrian areas, parks, school playing fields, sports grounds, and cemeteries.

Report dog fouling [see the live link on the WODC website]

Any fouling in a public place should be quickly removed using a suitable plastic bag. Simply pick up the waste using the bag, tie a knot in it and dispose of the dog waste in:

A dedicated dog waste bin (there are currently 500 dog waste bins installed in the district)

Any general litter bin

One of the dual-purpose litter and dog waste bins

Alternatively, take the bagged dog waste home and dispose of it in your grey wheeled bin used for household waste. Please do not put dog waste in refuse bins belonging to other residents which may be at the kerb awaiting collection or in any recycling containers.

Dog waste is a problem because:

• Dog faeces carry many germs that can cause illness and in extreme cases could result in blindness

• It is both offensive to smell and to look at, and is extremely unpleasant to step in

Sat 13 Nov 2021, 09:38 (last edited on Sat 13 Nov 2021, 10:07)

Hi everyone. I don't usually add to these threads but I would like to describe the issue as follows - 

There are some dog walkers who do not pick-up their dog's poo. On Halloween, I was out with my son and his friends and I brought home something unpleasant on my shoe. Our driveway, which is at the end of Ticknell Lane, also seems to be a popular spot for dog do-dos. Some owners don't pick up and I either bag it up and put it on our bin or collect it unintentionally. 

Having been a dog owner myself until a few years ago, I can tell you that collecting someone else's dog's poo is more unpleasant than collecting that of your own. I don't know why that is, but, if I may, that is the only parallel I would draw to babies and nappies. 

There are many responsible dog owners in Charlbury and for that I am very grateful. We have a lovely community and made up of lovely responsible people. But I am not sure what to do to discourage the practice of not picking-up or identify owners who don't.  I have considered cameras and DNA testing and chasing dog owners down the road when I catch them in the act and placing it on their driveways. Both cameras and DNA testing are relatively straight-forward, but they are time consuming and I have better things to do than CSI some s***.  :-( 

Thanks for reading. :-) 

Thu 11 Nov 2021, 09:26

Rosemary again that is absurd and quite frankly ridiculous.  Clearly you have never owned a dog and do not understand.  When you take a dog for a walk it is natural for them to do their business, you’re not sure where or when but they will go on one or two of their walks.  Secondly, do you know how many cats there are in the area which are NOT house cats. They roam the streets and people gardens doing their business wherever they please but with no one to pick up after them however you fail to mention this.  Maybe in your ideal world nobody would have a pet or if they had, they would be kept inside their homes at all times, this will NEVER happen as it is against nature and our society.  Clearly you are not an animal lover which is surprising in this area but please some of us are and you do not know the circumstances or reasons as to why we have a pet.  I would ask you not to keep criticising the responsible dog owners in the area, of which there are many and focus on something else.

Wed 10 Nov 2021, 17:56 (last edited on Wed 10 Nov 2021, 17:57)

Pauline, I am suggesting that. Litter trays outside or inside, like cats.

Wed 10 Nov 2021, 07:11

Rosemary I’m sorry but I find your comment quite absurd.  You cannot compare a baby’s nappy change with a dog.  Are you suggesting we should allow our trained dogs to go to the toilet in our homes?  Of course we walk our dogs to exercise and to coincide with them doing their business, this is normal. Yes they may go in places we don’t want them to however by picking it up and disposing of it, it is not harming anyone.  As for the bins, surely it is better to have them placed at regular intervals or in strategic places to encourage ALL people to use them and not just dog owners as it seems there are quite a few litter bugs about.

Fri 5 Nov 2021, 17:37 (last edited on Fri 5 Nov 2021, 17:38)

Yes Meraud, I don’t have any problem with that point of view but it is missing my point.

I am more concerned with the fact that it is deemed righteous, in this 21st Century, to accept that thousands of  times a day, people all over the country take dogs out with the express purpose of depositing noxious and toxic excrement anywhere they like. Of course, most owners do the decent thing and use bins, but this filthy habit should not have to be seen as normal, in my opinion. I do understand that the walks are essential to exercise the dogs, but they are usually timed to coincide with the need to do the other stuff, aren’t they. I’m aware that a minority of dog owners do not do this.

My point is that all this excrement should be deposited within the confines of the owners’ properties - be it indoors or outdoors, where it could be bagged up, and THEN binned accordingly. In that way the problems, of which there are many, would disappear overnight.

Thu 4 Nov 2021, 22:22

I suppose the reason is that there are things you don't use and I do, but we both contribute towards, and things that I don't use and you do, and we both contribute towards as well. For instance I don't cycle round Charlbury and virtually never take the bus, but I'm always happy for my taxes to contribute to things like cycle racks and bus subsidies, because they make our community better.

Thu 4 Nov 2021, 15:00

I keep on saying this, by the way. If you have a baby at home and it needs a nappy change, would you take the baby out and encourage it to poo on the street? Of course not.

Dogs are considered to be one of the family, aren’t they, but only seemingly when it suits.

People love their dogs, I know that, but. It’s time that the responsibility for collecting and disposing of their excrement - whilst keeping it OFF the streets - was given to the owners, not the local rate payers.

What’s so wrong in that?