A bill is currently going through the House of Lords proposing to amend the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.
The new proposals would add the following clause:
“In Chapter 1 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 (controls on dogs), insert—
“55 Dog fouling: offence
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he or she allows a dog for which he or she is responsible to foul in any place to which this section applies and does not dispose of the dog waste.
(2) This section applies to any place in the area of a principal litter authority which is open to the air and accessible to the public.
(3) No offence is committed under subsection (1) where the dog fouling is—
(a)authorised by law; or
(b)done by or with the consent of the owner, occupier or other person having control of the place where the fouling occurs.
The maximum fine allowable will also be raised from £80 to £100.
It is also proposed that dog faeces be added to the cigarettes and chewing gum as item regarded as litter under Section 98(5A)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act.
If the Bill is passed, as looks likely, a duty will also be imposed on local authorities to provide a minimum number of waste bins, but alas only for cigarettes and chewing gum. Cuts to local authority budgets have already seen a decline in all types of waste bin as well as fewer collections. Beats me why councils haven’t used dog poo compost bins; they could then sell the results to gardeners.
Picking up and disposing of dog waste responsibly is vital to prevent the spread of disease from dog to dog as well to other animals, including humans. An increasing number of dogs are fed a raw diet or may be given raw bones, raising the chances that they will shed bacteria such as salmonella, giardia and campylobacter into the environment. Additionally, some diseases only spread when faeces are a few days old. Dog feces may contain parvovirus, whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, threadworms, campylobacteriosis, giardia and coccidia. If left unattended, parasites can contaminate water and soil and result in infection in dogs and humans. Neosporosis and sarcocystosis can spread from dog faces on grazing land and cause, respectively, abortions in cattle and neurological disease and death in sheep.
So
BAG IT, BIN IT AND DISPOSE OF IT RESPONSIBLY.