People in Sefton are being “driven mad” by “horrific” dog fouling on the district’s streets as it is revealed that simply 8 fines were released in 2015.
One local, residing in the Church Road location of Sefton, just recently required to social networks to grumble about the blight on his regional streets after coming home to discover one dog owner had actually enabled their dog to nasty in his driveway.
Posting in a regional Facebook group, Jay Perry said: “Amount of people walking dogs on this road that don’t clean their dog s*** is a disgrace. If it’s in front of someone’s house pick it up!”
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The post resulted in actions from other locals fed up of the scenario, consisting of someone who said: “Gone are the days when notices were on lamp posts, pick it up or incur a fine. Problem was there was no one to actually instil a fine. Still isn’t.”
She included: “Makes you wonder what the homes of these people are like.”
Another local said: “Don’t get why the council can’t put bins about.”
Speaking to the ECHO about the scenario, Mr Perry said that he has actually frequently seen lots of circumstances of dog fouling while out walking in the location and when challenged, the reaction from individuals was frequently “they don’t care.”
He said: “I think more bins along the road [are needed] and more of a threat of punishment. They know there is no consequences at the moment.”
A recent Freedom of Information demand sent by Green Party council prospect Neil Doolin and seen by the ECHO revealed that just 8 fines had actually been released in Sefton for the entire of 2022 for dog fouling.
Mr Doolin informed the ECHO the scenario “just makes people angry and is driving people mad” and contacted Sefton Council to up its prosecution rates for dog fouling.
Referring to a public space defense order in location which grants powers of enforcement to officers to provide fines, Mr Doolin said: “Exactly where have all of these staff been patrolling in Sefton to have just eight fines in the borough for a whole year?”
He included: “There’s a sense that it’s being allowed to happen so that people who are flaunting the laws not being responsible in terms of dealing with their own dogs and dog poo kind of know that nothing will happen to them.”
A representative for Sefton Council said: “As a regional authority we desire our locals and visitors to the district to take pleasure in walking their animals here. All we ask in return is for them to clean up after their animals and comply with the Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).
“The majority of dog owners do act responsibly, pick up after their dog and place the bags in one of the numerous public bins across the borough. This ensures that dogs and humans can utilise these spaces in harmony while promoting a cleaner and greener environment which everyone can enjoy. People do not have to use a dedicated dog waste bin, they can use any public waste bin.”
The representative continued: “We recognise the negative impact of dog fouling and have Enforcement Officers patrolling the Borough every day, monitoring compliance with the Dog Control PSPO and serving Fixed Penalty Notices for offences observed. Our Cleansing Services also continue to remove dog fouling during street sweeping operations.”
The representative said that under the remit of the Dog Control PCSO an overall of 226 fines were released in 2022. The defense order can consist of fines for breaching constraints on dogs getting in particular locations, being kept leads in designated areas or a lot of dogs being strolled by someone – along with for permitting dogs to nasty.
The representative said: “Anyone caught failing to comply will be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice of £75”.
The representative continued: “We utilize reports from the general public to help target enforcement and cleaning activity, so if you observe dog fouling, you can report it by going to: www.sefton.gov.uk/dogs.
“We urge all dog owners to familiarise themselves with their responsibilities under the Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), which can be found on the Council’s website at www.sefton.gov.uk/dogs.”
Mr Doolin will be standing in the Church ward at next month’s Sefton Council elections. He will be up versus Veronica Webster (Labour), Graham Campbell (Conservatives) and John Bellis (Freedom Alliance).
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