Clean up your mess plea to dog owners

A PLEA has gone out to dog owners in Wokingham and Winnersh – clean up after your pet.

And residents who spot owners who refuse to collect the dogs’ mess are being encouraged to report them to the council.

Earlier this month, the Animal Warden team, a shared service between West Berkshire Council and Wokingham Borough Council, revealed that it has been receiving an above average number of complaints over dog fouling.

A Facebook post said: “We continue to patrol areas that are frequently complained about and are shocked by the amount of fouling that has not been picked up.”

The team have been targeting two areas in the borough: Barrett Crescent in Wokingham and Watmore Lane in Winnersh.

“We were disheartened to see things had not improved since our last visits,” the post added.

The team want to catch the culprits and have asked residents to help them get to the bottom of the problem.

It has set up special links to allow residents to report owners who leave dogs’ mess on the ground. The more details that reporters can provide, the more they can do to help.

The Facebook post said: “Please report all problems with dog fouling using the link. When reporting please provide as much information as possible about the dog owner, dog type and time of day the offence is occurring.”

Clare Lawrence, Assistant Director – Place Based Services for Wokingham Borough Council told The Wokingham Paper: “Unfortunately, there’s a small minority failing to clear up after their dogs.

“We’ve already undertaken steps to highlight this issue including warning signs, flyers, spraying faeces, attending events and surveillance. We can also patrol in areas where a problem’s been highlighted.

“However in order to tackle the problem effectively, we rely on information from the public. Residents can report fouling online at wokingham.westberks.gov.uk/ dogfouling. The more information we receive, the easier it is to investigate.”