‘Toxic waste’ blitz is urged on dog owners
ASCHOOLBOY having to avoid dog mess on his way to class and a child who lost his sight after touching some have prompted a crackdown on irresponsible pet owners.
The first boy’s mum, Labour councillor Clare Carragher, will reveal a series of measures to tackle the problems when she speaks out about her experience at tonight’s full Sefton Council meeting.
Cllr Carragher wants to highlight and educate about dangers to encourage dog owners to be more responsible and clean it up.
She said: “As well as it being a personal gripe of mine, we do get a lot of complaints from residents and we see it on Facebook.
“I know when I’m taking my son to school it’s always ‘watch the dog poo’ and now he has begun to question why he should have to avoid it, even at his young age.
“We’ve done all we can in terms of dog wardens, having to put dog bags on leads etc but it’s about getting the individual to take responsibility also.”
She will explain to her council colleagues how pet waste is a dangerous pollutant in a similar category to toxic chemicals and oil and can spread parasites including hookworms, ringworms, E coli tapeworms and salmonella. It can also be washed into drains ending up in faraway streams, rivers and groundwater.
It often contains roundworm larvae which cause blindness. If a human ingests a roundworm larva, it can migrate through the body, causing disease to the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver, heart or eyes.
When people, especially children and pregnant women, touch soil, dog toys or anything that has been in contact with dog faeces and then touch their mouths, they can become infected.
Cllr Carragher has called the meeting to organise ways to highlight the dangers of pet waste.
She said: “My husband’s little cousin, who was only two years old at that time, came into contact with dog dirt while playing in the park. Due to it containing parasites he lost sight in one eye.
“This is a very serious issue as it’s not just the dog dirt itself but where it’s been and how we come into contact with it.”
The motion has been seconded by Labour Councillor Diane Roscoe.
Cllr Carragher said: “There’s also an environmental issue here because increasingly, people are using baby wipes to wipe the dog’s bum and they’re being left.
“As well as being dangerous, they’re nonbiodegradable. I’ve seen lots of them on litter-picks I’ve done and with it being autumn, a lot of this is being hidden by leaves.
“It’s people who are using the dog bags and just leaving them also.”
She added: “It would be good to come up with a campaign, a bit like the old ‘Charlie Says’ campaign.
“With campaigns like that, people were clear on what to do such as with a chip pan fire or a gas leak.
“I’m aware we’re on a tight budget also so we want it to be something simple that we can put out into the community such as in schools, churches, community centres.”