‘Pigs’ in the poo

Residents are kicking up a stink over the mess left by errant dog owners, but council have issued only one fine for failing to pick up after pups in the past 10 months.

Locals were furious after hundreds of bags filled with poo were found littering bush along a popular walk in Arundel last week. It’s believed the problem was exposed because clumps of weeds had died back.

Division 7 councillor Ryan Bayldon-Lumsden was also angry, slamming the person or persons responsible as “pigs” after the bags were discovered near Arundel Drive.

“It’s just pretty disgusting that people engage in that kind of behaviour. It’s your dog, you should take the responsibility for all aspects of dog ownership,” Mr Bayldon-Lumsden said. “Unless people change their behaviour, unfortunately it seems that this kind of thing will be ongoing.

“I’m all for fining people. If people are doing the wrong thing in that kind of way they should definitely be fined. But ultimately it comes down to people just basically not being pigs. Just having some respect for themselves, where they live and the people that are around them and not doing this sort of thing.”

Mr Bayldon-Lumsden said he would request a council crew to clean the mess.

“It’s not an isolated incident. It does seem to happen all over the place,” he said. “People will tie them to fences or sit them on people’s letter boxes or put them on flexi skips ... some people are even tossing it into the bush.”

The person responsible for the incident was labelled a “lazy idiot” and “scumbag” by locals on social media, who reported seeing poo bags dumped in other parts of the city.

The council fine for failing to pick up after your dog and properly dispose of the waste is $72. The fine for general littering is $287. Only one fine for failing to pick up had been issued in the current financial year, a spokesman said. However, council increased patrols in “problem areas” when contacted by residents.