I see a similar trend on social media of people complaining about “dog poo everywhere”. Complaining on social media doesn’t do anything, so I’m wondering if reporting it to Eastleigh Borough Council does?
The council have a form to report dog poo / dog fouling here, which makes the fines seem pretty serious:
So I’ll ask them with the following request under freedom of information:
Over the last 5 years, can you provide a count per month of dog fouling reports?
Over the last 5 years, how many fixed penalties have been issued for dog fouling per year?
Over the last 5 years, how many people have been prosecuted for dog fouling per year?
See you again within 20 days when we get their response, for the next gripping instalment ;).
I note a spike in dog poo reports every January! Do dog walkers find dog poo too cold to pick up in January?!
Other things I noted:
There is a decline in reports of dog fouling. Do people think reporting on social media is reporting it? Report dog fouling to the council people! If you didn’t report it, it as good as didn’t happen.
There is no penalty for people letting their dogs foul! - In 5 years, the council have prosecuted no one, and issued no fines.
In an open park area, It’d may be the result of owners being unable to find the poo due to lack of light. Fallen leafs disguise/cover poo quickly.
The majority of owners make good effort to pick up. There will always be a few that won’t pick up and they’ll always be a times when an owner is distracted for a few moments and misses the dog fouling.
There is no excuse for not picking up from the pavement.
hah, really good point @Lee_Woodward, I hadn’t thought of that one.
Agree most dog walkers make a good effort, and I personally have no issue. This was about challenging the social media perspective that “its getting much worse”, which is now demonstrably not true.