Dog fouling now a major anti-social problem
- PEOPLE ‘ESSENTIALLY GIVING THE TWO FINGERS TO ALL OF US’ -
The area’s dog warden has warned that the health hazard of dog fouling is now a major antisocial behaviour problem in communities.
Nuala McNamara has said that the problem is made all the worse by people not willing to report those who are committing the offence.
Nuala, speaking to The Avondhu, said that the health problems associated with dog faeces is such that a young child has lost the sight in her eye due to the parasite present in such droppings.
She has called on people to work with her and other agencies to find those responsible.
“The problem is that we need to catch the person with the dog in the act, and that happens in just seconds. It is very difficult,” she said.
“At present Saint Colman’s pitch is in a disgusting state in there. It is a lovely amenity and it is being abused. This is not just unsightly but it is a serious health hazard, people doing the fouling are essentially giving the two fingers to all of us. We need the public’s help, we need the public to assist in targeting those that are responsible,” she said.
PROACTIVE APPROACH IN TALLOW
Nuala said that a community based scheme in Tallow where there is a concerted campaign to deal with the problem could well be a success.
“If people want something done about this, they must report it themselves. It is time people had respect for each other and the answer to this problem rests in the behaviour of individual dog owners.
“It is extremely difficult for the dog warden to catch the incident in the act, so to speak. Ultimately it is time for dog owners to act responsibly.
“Time people need to be proactive. Tallow are setting a good example with a community effort, they are making people aware,” she said.
Her comments come as it was revealed at the Fermoy Municipal District meeting on Tuesday that there have been no dog fouling fines issued in the area between 2015 and 2020. There have been just 20 issued nationwide.
Cllr William O’Leary, who raised the issue, said that the problem did not rest with the hard working dog wardens, but with the public.
“The response is startling. It is very worrying that no fines are being handed out. There is no detterant. It is very hard to catch people in the act, but it is not if people report it. People need to be responsible,” he said.
‘NO PERFECT ANSWER’
All councillors supported the motion by Cllr O’Leary with Cllr Noel McCarthy who, the dog warden had said, was particularly proactive in dealing with the problem, backing up calls for personal responsibility of dog owners.
“90% of people are doing the right thing but there is a small minority who keep doing the wrong thing.
“I want to compliment the wardens but people doing the wrong thing need to be named and shamed at this stage,” Cllr McCarthy said.
Cllr Frank Roche called for extra bins to be placed in amenity areas but engineer Brendan O’Gorman said that council staff find that these bins are being abused as dumping places for household waste.
Council official Mary Hayes said that the best course of action would be a public awareness campaign, but added that there was ‘no perfect answer’.
She said the council were discussing a major information campaign and also said that traffic wardens would now be empowered to deal with the problem.
‘REAL HEALTH THREAT’
Nuala McNamara, who was not at the meeting, and spoke to this newspaper subsequently, said a major drive needs to be done to make repeat offenders realise their actions.
“Dog fouling must be seen to be as socially unacceptable as committing a crime in your community. The danger of this issue is that it is a real health threat to everyone,” she explained.