Family plea for dog ban at cemetery
DAUGHTER LAUNCHES PETITION IN BID TO STOP PEOPLE WALKING THEIR PETS AFTER MESS SPOTTED AT GRAVESIDE
A BURTON woman is trying to get dog walking in the town’s main cemetery banned after animals fouled around her father’s grave.
Rubena Kashwar was “disgusted” after being told by her sister that she had found dog mess near her father Shabir Shah’s grave at Stapenhill Cemetery.
Ms Kashwar said she had a meeting with East Staffordshire Borough Council, where she discussed the issue, and was told information posters telling dog walkers to clean up the mess would be put up.
However, she claimed nothing had been done and has now started a petition, which she will present to Burton MP Kate Griffiths.
It has been signed by more than 600 people and she is hoping for at least 1,000 signatures before she presents it in a couple of weeks.
The mum-of-one said: “Recently my sister saw some dog mess when she went to visit my dad’s grave and I have even been contacted by a lady who went to visit her baby son’s grave and saw dog mess next to it.
“This made me sick and I felt very angry and frustrated.
“People go to visit their loved ones and it’s quite emotional; they don’t need to see things like dog mess.
“Other members of the public have made complaints and nothing has been done.
“The council charge a lot of money when we bury our loved ones and that means when the graves are dug and filled their job is not finished.
“They have to help us preserve those spaces as they are very important.
“Someone’s mum, dad or loved one is buried in the cemetery and they don’t want to see what my sister saw. There’s a park next to the cemetery and there’s plenty of greenery around for people to walk through.
“Unless people start getting fined for not picking up the mess, I feel the best solution is to ban it altogether.”
Her father died from cancer in 2017 and the following year Rubena set up the Shabir Shah Foundation in his memory. The foundation aims to support those who are vulnerable and work with communities to help one another.
Speaking to the Burton Mail earlier this year, Rubena, who has lived in Burton all her life, said: “My dad
was very active when it came to working in the community and played a huge part in building the first mosque in Burton.
“I wanted to follow in his footsteps and through the foundation I have been able to do this.
“I am able to support food banks, charities in Burton and more recently NHS staff.
“The foundation has previously donated medical equipment and food parcels to several places in Syria and Palestine.
“In Burton, we have managed to donate watering cans to Stapenhill Cemetery, as well as stools and chairs for visitors to use when they come to visit their loved ones.”
A council spokesperson said: “A Public Space Protection Order exists at Stapenhill Cemetery that requires dogs to be on leads.
“If members of the public witness a dog walker letting their dogs off the lead or if a dog owner fails to clean up dog fouling, this should be reported to Community & Civil Enforcement Team with a description of the dog and the owner, time and date of the incident.”