Children from Clwb Pel Droed Iau Llanfairpwll Junior Football Club on Anglesey were waving ‘poop scoop bags’ recently in a plea to get dog walkers to clear up after their dogs. The club trains most days of the week on the Gors football pitch in the centre of the village as well as Junior League games every weekend. Unfortunately volunteers have to clear dog poo from the pitch everyday.
“Dog fouling is a regular problem for us because lots of people in the village use the pitch to walk their dog. There are signs up by the pitch, but we still have to spend half an hour, every time we use it, clearing up three to five pieces of dog poop before we can let the children on. We want to let dog owners know why they should start cleaning up. Perhaps they don’t realise that we have over 160 children of all ages playing football on the Gors, including several under 7’s teams, who could have their health affected,” says Adrian Williamson, the Secretary of Clwb Pel Droed Iau Llanfairpwll Junior Football Club on Anglesey.
Dog faeces can carry harmful infections that can seriously affect humans, and may carry the eggs of a parasite that causes blindness in children. The best way to prevent disease from dog poop spreading is to clear it up quickly. The health risks are great, so it is against the law not to do this.
“Recent Council events with Keep Wales Tidy and the Police have helped us to reach as many people as possible to inform them of the environmental, health and legal issues surrounding dog fouling. We thank responsible dog owners for cleaning up and we have given out hundreds of free poop scoop bags and poop scoop packs to dog owners. But there are places where this is not happening,” said Jonathan Eastwood, Acting Chief Waste Management Officer at Isle of Anglesey County Council.
Dog owners can face fines of £75 for not clearing up and dog wardens will be out looking for offenders. People seeing dog walkers not cleaning up can also call their council to report it. “Some dog owners are just bone idle and fining them might be the only way to get them to stop being so selfish. There are lots of dog owners who do clear up and don’t cause a problem,” concludes Adrian.
Anglesey Residents can pick up free poop scoops at the main Council Offices in Llangefni, call into the Environmental Health Section, 10.00am to 4.00pm. Also available, as part of a trial exercise, local residents can get free poop scoops during opening hours from, Bodffordd Siop and Post Office, Spar ‑ Llanfairpwll, Co-operative ‑ Llanfairpwll and Tyn Lôn Petrol Station ‑ Llanfairpwll. To report an irresponsible dog owner on Anglesey call: 01248 752820 or email: [email protected].
Photograpgh: Children from Clwb Pel Droed Iau Llanfairpwll Junior Football Club
