VITAL REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DOG

Reasons Why You Should Clean Up After Your Dog

Here are some important reasons why you should pick up your pet’s waste:

• It’s ugly
• It smells
• It’s messy
• It’s the right thing to do
• It pollutes the environment
• It attracts pests and parasites
• It contaminates water (rivers, streams, lakes and our oceans)
• Bacteria in waste can endanger humans, pets, wildlife, birdlife and marine life
• It’s high in nitrogen and phosphorus which promote weed and algae growth in water

Diseases Associated with Animal Faeces

Several diseases can be transmitted from dogs to humans via faeces.

• E. coli
• Giardia
• Coccidia
• Parvovirus
• Salmonella
• Toxocariasis
• Canine coronavirus
• Cryptosporidium
• Campylobacter
• Roundworms
• Hookworms
• Whipworms

One gram of dog waste can contain up to 23 million faecal coliform bacteria.

In 2017, there were approximately 8 million dogs in the UK creating roughly 1 000 tonnes of waste A DAY.

Tips for Picking Up & Discarding Pet Waste

• Buy dog waste bags
• Pay attention to when your dog has to go and be ready
• Pick up one extra dog poop that doesn’t belong to your dog
• Take extra bags and offer them to pet parents who fail to pick up their pet’s waste
• Encourage others to clean up after their pets with a sign and free bags outside your home
• Find out if there’s a company in your area that picks up and properly disposes of pet waste
• Don’t go for doggy walks without a way to remove waste from the environment
• Don’t use compost in your garden that contains pet waste

Also find out what your municipality expects of you, for example:

According to most councils, dog owners (except registered blind people with guide dogs) have a legal duty to carry a poop scoop and/or disposable bags in order to clean up every time their dog messes in a public place. Bags can be disposed of in dog bins or double-wrapped and placed in normal litter bins.

Dog owners can be fined if they fail to remove their dog’s waste (price varies from council to council and refusal can land you in court) and in some constituencies there are penalties for forgetting to carry waste bags / pooper scoopers when walking their dogs.

Exemptions: Dog owners on public land in England and Wales such as land used for agriculture or woodlands; rural common land; land that is predominantly marshland, moor or heath; and highways with a speed limit of 50 mph or more.

For more information, contact your council’s animal warden unit.

DID YOU KNOW? 1 to 7 April is International Pooper Scooper Week!

In 2008, the first week of April was declared International Pooper Scooper Week. Its purpose is to spread awareness of a rising problem and educate pet parents on the importance of cleaning up after their dogs. #PooperScooper Week

Do Your Part as Pet Parent

From 1 to 7 April AND BEYOND, let’s commit to being better pooch parents by picking up and discarding waste properly.