Feb 10
25
Dog fouling – Public Awareness Campaign
Dog fouling is an issue that arises again and again. It is a disgusting and unhygienic issue, but unfortunately one that is very hard to address.
The problem of dog fouling is City wide, and one that is not being tackled, given that no prosecutions or fines have ever been issue. At this week’s council meeting I table a question to the City Manager to ask him to outline the Council’s policy on dog fouling.
In his response the City manager, outlined the following points:
A staff of 4 litter wardens together with support staff are involved in implementing the terms of the Litter Pollution Acts 1997 to 2003.
No fines have been issued under section 22 of the 1997 Litter Pollution Act in 2008 or 2009 due to the difficulty in identifying offending dogs and then their owners.
Cork City Council’s Anti-Litter Campaign for the past number of years has included the issue of dog fouling. Numerous ‘no dog fouling signs’ have been erected on public roadways, walkways, public parks and greens.
All holders of dog licences have been written to by the Recreation, Amenity and Culture Directorate advising of responsibilities of dog ownership including dog fouling and are given free dog litter bags.
In addition the Park Rangers from the Recreation Amenity and Culture Directorate regularly have dog awareness sessions in public parks and in walkways throughout the City advising dog owners of the offence of dog littering.
As a supplementary question, I suggested that City Council would undertake a public awareness campaign, to make dog owners aware of their social responsibility to pick up after their own pets and also the health and safety risks associated with dog fouling. The manager has agreed to such a campaign
