YOUR correspondent Roger Harvey criticises the comments made in letters from Anne Pollard and myself as illustrating the cult of ‘somebody else must do it’ (SA, February 9, 2011).
Mr Harvey is referring to letters in response to an article by Stephanie Tye, which explained that an owner allowing a dog to foul public spaces without clearing up its mess is committing an offence under Dog Control Orders, Regulations 2006: however, he appears to ignore my comment that responsible owners, the majority, pick up their dog’s deposits and place them in a bin. The point I made which was highlighted by the photograph accompanying Steph Tye’s article is that the bins are often full to overflowing which suggests they might need collecting more frequently. He further states that “It is totally ridiculous to expect council officers to patrol parks and other open spaces and presumably footpaths to catch people in the act of not picking up excrement deposited by their dogs.” Why is such a view ridiculous? it was the stated opinion of Coun David Wren who being concerned about dog fouling said: “We are going to target areas where there are concerns. The officers will be on the ground, they will be fully trained and looking at all aspects of environ-crime. They will be walking the beat and they will be visible.”
His colleague Coun Peter Greenhalgh a man not known for suffering fools gladly, endorsed Coun Wren’s remarks with one of his own “I think it’s a really positive step for Swindon, having people out there with the power to deal with these issues.” I am sure that members of the dog owning public might possibly speak to another dog owner who they saw breaking the law, but somehow I doubt the recipient of a threat to be reported would be too welcoming of such wise counsel. Best to have a bigger, stronger dog if you intend to speak out!
DES MORGAN
Caraway Drive
Swindon
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