Keep Caerlaverock Clean!

At last week’s CCA meeting our local child minder, Kelly Green of Kelly’s Kidzcare in Bankend, drew attention to the amount of dog fouling from Castle Corner into the Castle Woods reserve area. She had taken along six children for a walk and to play and had to return to the car because of the amount of fouling she found.

Kelly was not alone in being appalled and disgusted by this lack of common courtesy by some dog walkers…  

As a result, David Gilbert, [chair of CCA] got in touch with SNH reserve manager, Suzanne McIntyre to enquire if there any proposals to effect a clean-up, or to improve signage at the Castle Corner entrance, to draw dog owners attention to the need to clean up after their animals.

There are leaflets and a small sign in the repositioned shelter already, but whilst we can all appreciate that we don’t wish to detract from the nature reserve by having signage everywhere, the current sign clearly isn’t working.

Suzanne reassured us that the SNH have recently upgraded the dog fouling posters in an effort to help people understand the consequences of leaving dog mess. She will look into making them more prominent.

The Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003, states that ‘if a dog defecates at any time upon any place to which this Act applies and a person who is in charge of the dog at that time fails immediately to remove the faeces from the place, that person shall be guilty of an offence’. Perhaps that will persuade the perpetrators to pick up the poop? Don’t they ever tread in the stuff?

Suzanne has sent an email to the community safety team in the council to see what more can be done.

Scottish ‘doggy do’ in numbers:

  1. Almost 7 out of 10 people rated dog fouling as the item on our streets, parks and beaches that bothered them most. 
  2. There are around 820,000 dogs in Scotland
  3. They produce over 100,000+ tonnes of excrement per year
  4. Not cleaning up after your dog is also illegal as a result of The Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003. 
  5. In 2016 the fixed penalty for leaving dog fouling was increased to £80, and can in some cases lead to conviction and a fine of up to £500.

Biodegradable dog poo bags are available to buy at The Boathouse on Glencaple Quay (and at other good shops!). Pictured above.

Keep Scotland Beautiful tell us that:

In addition to being a nuisance to pedestrians and walkers, dog fouling can also be dangerous to people’s health.  The biggest risk is an infection from the roundworm which spreads toxocariasis, symptoms of which include dizziness and nausea, but in worse cases, eye damage and seizures.

They suggest what we can do:

  • Follow the golden rules: Grab it, bag it, bin it. Any bin will do.
  • If you see someone allowing their dog to foul and if you feel safe, politely but firmly encourage them to clear up after their dog. Offer them a bag if you happen to be carrying any.
  • If you don’t feel that you can approach someone, report dog fouling to your local authority – particularly if you know who is letting their dog foul regularly.
  • If you are inspired to tackle and monitor dog fouling yourself, contact us for advice on how to develop your own campaign.
  • Download a poster and display it, with permission, to raise awareness of the issue locally.
  • You can also create a “dog sharing station”, where you encourage people to pick up their dog’s foul.  You can see some examples of other communities bag sharing stations here.

You can report dog fouling to Dumfries and Galloway Council here: www.dumgal.gov.uk/Dog-fouling

The Community Safety Team can be contacted here:

Keep Caerlaverock Clean!