5,000 dog fouling complaints made

Batley West councillor Gwen Lowe tackled dog fouling in Batley.Batley West councillor Gwen Lowe tackled dog fouling in Batley.
Batley West councillor Gwen Lowe tackled dog fouling in Batley.
More than 5,000 complaints have been made to the council about the amount of dog poo on our paths and in parks.

New figures show people rang Kirklees 5,190 times between 2009 and 2013 to complain about the issue.

The data, revealed after a Freedom of Information request, also showed that just two fixed penalty notices of £75 were issued to owners caught not cleaning up their pet’s mess last year, with one owner prosecuted.

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Council bosses stress they have a zero tolerance policy to dog fouling, and will take all action necessary to fine irresponsible dogs owners who do not clean up after their pet.

On its website, the council said: “Anyone in charge of a dog will commit an offence if they do not clean up any faeces left by that dog.”

Owners can be issued with a fixed penalty notice or face fines of up to £1,000 if prosecuted in magistrates court. The most complaints about dog fouling were received in 2012, where 1,142 were made.

Coun Gwen Lowe (Lab, Batley West) launched her own crusade in Batley urging people to dob in dog poo delinquents.

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She said: “There is just no excuse. I am a responsible dog owner and clean up after my dog. It is not rocket science.

“We walked around Staincliffe with a dog warden, leafleting at people’s homes and putting up extra signage to highlight the problem.

“But the only way to stop it is report them.”

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