Dog owners ‘should steer pets away’ from corroding lamp posts

‘Dogs look at lamp posts like us looking at our Facebook posts. They sniff every post and get a message from it’

RESIDENTS are asked not to let dogs visit street lights as it corrodes the metal posts, which have to be replaced at a cost of £1,000.

Mike Jackson, constable for St Brelade, one of the 12 parishes of Jersey, says the rate at which new lamp posts are required is higher in areas popular with dog walkers.

While new lamp posts are typically required every 20 to 30 years, in areas frequented by dogs and their owners, such as the Bulwarks in St Aubin, they need replacing sooner. Con Jackson said: “It’s a longstanding issue for local authorities in the UK, and I know from my time as transport minister, that it’s also a problem here.”

Mr Jackson served as Jersey’s minister for transport and technical services between 2008 and 2011.

He warned: “The issue is self-perpetuating, as once one dog has done its business and left a scent, the lamp post is more interesting to others. Some dogs will stop at every opportunity.

“The cost of replacing lamp posts on roads for which a parish was responsible would eventually need to be covered by the rates.”

St Brelade has an annual maintenance contract with Jersey Electricity.

However Mr Jackson admitted that policing the matter was difficult.

“There are laws about leaving dog mess on pavements and beaches, but they are hard to enforce and it’s not realistic to think we could have more laws specifically for lamp posts.

“All we can really do is politely ask owners to steer their dogs away from lamp posts to other places where they won’t cause damage.”

But the chairman of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel’s comments have not been well received by residents.

One said: “Why not make it a crime? Whatever next? This is just pathetic.”

One local pointed out that dogs might not be solely responsible for the corrosion: “Lamp posts by the ocean are always going to degrade quicker. It’s a bit of a no-brainer that saltwater is corrosive – don’t blame the dog.”

And another pet owner suggested simple protective measures: “Surely it’d be easier to fix a plastic guard around the lamp posts.

“I also find it hard to believe that there isn’t a suitable coating to paint onto the lamp posts either.” Mr Jackson added: “Traditionally, dogs look at lamp posts like us looking at our Facebook posts. I think that you’ll see that they sniff at every post and get a message from it, and they like to leave their message on it.

“Perhaps those messages are what’s causing the long-term damage that you might consider is causing us a problem.

“I think, realistically, it is contributory to the corrosion of lamp posts which do need to be replaced from time to time”