Cornwall Council has launched a seasonal anti-fouling campaign aimed at reminding dog owners in the county to clean up after their pets. A series of Christmas-themed posters have been designed to help tackle the growing problem of dog fouling and feature Christmas trees “decorated” with dog poo bags placed at different beauty spots including Carn Brea, Godrevy and St Michael’s Mount. The posters get the message home with the phrase “would you decorate your tree like this?”
Allan Hampshire, head of public protection and business support at the council said he hoped the posters would make people think. “We have probably all experienced the frustration of seeing a full dog poo bag suspended from a hedgerow, tree, or left by a footpath,” he said. “We are taking that image to the extreme by showing a Christmas tree decorated with dog poo bags against the backdrop of some of the lovely places in Cornwall. What we are saying to people is that once you have taken the time to scoop and bag the poop, please put the bag in any litter bin or take it home and put it in your own bin.”
Kevin Brader, Cornwall’s senior environmental health officer, said the timing of the campaign is important, “We are running the campaign now as we notice an increase in fouling and littering issues when the days are short and dog owners are often walking their pets in darkness in the morning or the evening,” he said. “Anyone caught throwing or leaving bagged dog waste or not properly removing dog waste will face an £80 fixed penalty or prosecution.”
“Guests staying at The Valley’s dog friendly cottages Cornwall are provided with dedicated dog poo bins and poo bags for use during their stay which means that The Valley grounds fortunately don’t suffer these kind of problems”, according to manager David Reynolds, “However as dog owners ourselves we are pleased to see this initiative from the council, as unfortunately we do notice this being problem on many of our favourite dog walks around the county.”
THE VALLEY is proud to be the only 5 Star Gold Self Catering holiday village of its size in the whole of Cornwall
