Dog fouling stencilling

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Press Release

Published on 18 January 2021
Archived on 18 February 2021


Stratford-on-Avon District Council has received a noticeable increase in the number of complaints relating to dog fouling throughout the district during lockdown.  This may be because there are more dog owners now that people are working from home or that fouling is more noticeable on the quieter streets.

The District Council's dog warden has employed a successful tactic of stencilling on the pavement for a couple of years and has a number of stencils which are used to help educate dog owners, to be more responsible dog owners when it comes to clearing up dog mess.

The idea behind this tactic is that it embarrasses the offenders and indicates that someone may be watching and this has resulted in reduced dog fouling in these areas.

Cllr Anne Parry, Regulatory Portfolio says: "We have been stencilling the pavement in problem fouling areas for a couple of years using stencils saying "Pick it up" and "Bin the bag". The paint is temporary and will eventually be washed away. The aim is that drawing attention to the fouling will hopefully make perpetrators aware that they may be being watched and that their dog fouling is having an impact.
 
"The scheme has been successful in a number of problem areas across the district and whilst there is not the resource to do this for every hotspot, we do target particular areas when complaints arise, and there is a paved public surface for us to spray. 

"Unfortunately, the size of our district means that we can't be everywhere all of the time, and it's likely that a number of dog owners are using the cover of darkness to leave their dogs mess on pavements.

"We have now issued a new Public Spaces Protection (Dog Fouling) Order 2020 (PSPO) and the increased fixed penalty notice (FPN) of £100 for this offence. Moreover, it's obviously very unpleasant to step in dog mess and it can be a vector for many unpleasant diseases. Even one dog fouling in an area over a period of time has a significant impact and we would urge people to be responsible dog owners and bag it and bin it."


Contact details

Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Elizabeth House, Church Street,
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire,
CV37 6HX
Tel: 01789 267575

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Last updated on 18/01/2021