Dog poo proliferates, patrols begin
THE amount of dog poo being left on some Dunedin streets is creating quite the stink with locals.
Regular walker Angela McAuliffe says she was used to seeing the odd doggy deposit on the streets during her daily walks around her home suburb of St Clair over the years, but the amount had increased exponentially lately and that was not all right.
‘‘Since lockdown, oh my god the poo, it’s incredible.’’
Between her home and the St Kilda Surf Lifesaving Club yesterday, she counted 28 poos, some only a few metres apart.
‘‘It’s really disgusting how many people are not picking up after their dog.
‘‘It’s so disrepectful to the people that are residents in that street. It’s your dog, you bought it, you are responsible for its poo.’’
People needed to sharpen up their acts, and the council needed to do more, like stick reminders on lampposts, she said.
And while St Clair seemed to be a dog poo hot spot, excess dog poo on streets across the city has been getting regular air time on social media and homemade pick up your dog poo signs have sprouted across the city.
A council spokeswoman said the problem had lessened since the move to Level 3, but some dog owners were still not being responsible.
When it became aware of the issue initially, a public campaign asking dog owners to be responsible for their dogs was started.
Under Alert Level 3, animal services officers were doing regular patrols throughout the Dunedin region, including city streets, beaches, parks and sport fields, to ensure dog owners were behaving responsibly while out walking their dogs.
Patrols in St Clair, Andersons Bay and Musselburgh would increase in response to the latest concerns.
From Monday the officers would be visiting dog walking areas with a supply of free dog poo bags.
If people were able to identify a person who did not pick up their dog’s poo (by a name or car registration and a description of the dog) they should contact the council to make a complaint.