- The Trip blog will come in a day or two, but there's a lot to assemble, so in the meantime, we'll share articles from Ireland we thought were interesting.
Rob and Tom
Here's the story from the paper we read there yesterday:
Dublin authorities join forces to combat dog fouling
Dubliners are being urged to report dirty dog owners
A Bag the Poo sign on Dublin’s North Strand. Photograph: David Sleator/The Irish Times
Dubliners are being urged to report dog owners who fail to pick up after their pets, to local authorities.
A
new hotline number 1800 251 500 has been established by the four Dublin
councils to handle reports of dog fouling on streets, parks and
suburban roads throughout the city and county.
Currently
there are in excess of 30,000 dogs living in Dublin, with 30,745 dog
licences issued by the four Dublin local authorities in 2012 and 28,122
issued to date in 2013.
“Dog fouling remains a very serious
issue and one of the top gripes for Dubliners. As a result, Dublin’s
four local authorities are coming together to launch a new initiative
aimed at encouraging all dog owners to clean up after their dog,”
campaign spokeswoman, Therese Langan of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said.
In
addition to the hotline the councils will undertake a series of
marketing and promotional initiatives to raise awareness of the
environmental and health issues around dog fouling, as well as events
for dog owners taking place in parks around Dublin city and county.
“Dog
owners who do not clean up after their dogs are creating a serious
environmental and public health issue for everyone else. If not cleaned
up and disposed of appropriately, dog faeces can cause serious medical
problems such as Toxocara, leading to sight loss in children,” Ms Langan
said.
The campaign funded by the Dublin Regional Authority, follows a recent Milward Brown survey for Dublin City Council
which found 40 per cent of dog owners admitting to not cleaning up
after their pets and one in 10 having never or rarely removed dog foul
from the city streets. It also found nine out of 10 people thought dog
owners should pick up their animal’s waste, with just one in 10 saying
they shouldn’t have to.
“When dog owners are
walking their dog in the city, in the suburbs or in one of the city’s
many parks, there really is no excuse — always scoop the poop. Whether
it’s with a plastic bag or a pooper scooper, safely disposing of dog
litter is not only showing respect for your neighbours, it’s the law,”
she said.
