Wirral dog owners take the lead to tackle fouling (From Wirral Globe)

Wirral dog owners take the lead to tackle fouling

8:30am Saturday 29th September 2012 in News

Owners and their pets join Council teams at West Kirby at the first ‘Dog Lead’ meeting

WIRRAL'S army of “animal ambassadors” have come together to tackle the issues of dog fouling.

Back in May the Council put out an appeal for responsible dog owners to put themselves forward for a new group to help spread the message about being a good pet owner.

More than 100 responses were received and the ‘Dog Lead’ action group was formed. Their role is primarily educational, imparting advice and guidance to other dog walkers while they’re out and about exercising their pets.

But they will also have the chance to spend some time with the council’s dog fouling enforcement team to learn more about the problem of dog fouling and the challenges the team faces in trying to tackle the issue on a daily basis.

The first group of dog leaders met in West Kirby recently, with their pets, for a group ‘walkies’ along the promenade before heading down to the beach for a barbecue and a chance to get to know each other better.

They all also received a stack of biodegradable ‘poop bags’ which they can not only use to clean up after their dog, but also hand out to other owners they see out and about.

Alongside the dog leaders themselves, the event was attended by the main teams that are involved in Wirral’s dog fouling steering group – from Environmental Health, the dog fouling enforcement team, Waste and Recycling, Parks and Countryside and Animal Control and Welfare.

Cllr Brian Kenny, cabinet member for environment, said: “Dog fouling remains one of those issues which, quite rightly, raises the hackles of residents.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to tackle it and the idea behind the ‘dog lead’ group is that we enlist the support of responsible dog owners to help us and apply peer pressure to other less responsible owners.

“Dog mess left on the pavement or in the park can reflect badly on all dog owners, the more we can spread the word about the benefits of responsible dog ownership, the better. Their message is simple – we want our pavements and parks back.”

It’s not too late to enrol as one of Wirral’s dog leaders. For more details, visit www.wirral.gov.uk/doglead and complete the online form.