Orange Alert – Dog Poo Being Sprayed Orange

August

20

12 comments

From the District Council website:

Rochford District Council are spray-painting dog mess bright orange in a bid to shock irresponsible dog owners into changing their bad habits.

It?s part of the ?Love Rochford District? campaign that has been running this summer with the aim of informing residents about environmental crimes such as dog fouling and littering in a bid to clean up the District.

For the next few weeks, Officers from the Council?s Street Scene Team will be patrolling areas of Rochford where dog fouling is a particular problem and spray-painting dog mess they find orange to show how much is not being cleaned up by dog owners. Residents do not need to worry that dog mess won?t be cleaned up ? the orange poo will just be left where it is long enough to highlight the issue.

Rochford District Council?s Portfolio Holder for Environment, Leisure, Arts and Culture, Councillor Keith Gordon said: ?We want to send the message that dog fouling is unacceptable. Not only is it the most offensive litter on our streets but it could be dangerous. It can lead to an infection called toxocariasis if it enters the human system and young children are most at risk of this disease.

We hope this unusual approach will finally get the message through to irresponsible dog owners who don?t clean up after their dog?.

To report dog fouling problems or for more nformation about the ?Love Rochford District campaign please call customer services on 01702 318111, or visit www.rochford.gov.uk/streetscene

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  • Whilst I agree that dog fouling is an unpleasant problem, and one that annoys me a lot as it gives all dog owners a bad name, I do wonder at the thought processes behind this. How much is it costing and wouldn’t the money be better spent on actually cleaning it up. As it is one team will spray and one will clean up. Is the paint non toxic, completely non harmful to the environment. Unpleasant as it is, on grass dog poo will rot down, I don’t think spray paint will.

  • This has got to be a joke, right? Is RDC really going to pay someone to go on a poo patrol armed with a can of spray paint?

    This is where your council tax is going folks!

  • A good idea but let’s hope that the orange painted dog mess is not mistaken for pot holes that have been identified for repair as the mess will never be dealt with!
    Perhaps they can also spray the horse manure that is often deposited in the alleyway footpath between Rawreth Lane and Temple Way. This is not a bridal way but is regularly used as one.

  • Walking through Rochford on Monday I could see just how effective the spraypainting dog-poo orange was by the fact that half the dogpoo I saw wasn’t spraypainted orange!

  • I think this is a hoot! It’s barmy enough to catch on, & we could see it “spread” countrywide. People on Community Service could be sent out in teams with the spray cans to use on dog poo, instead of “tagging” our fences, walls, street furniture etc!
    The main problem will be how anyone will know whose “pile” is whose to be embarrassed about.
    Why don’t we just put up more bins & educate the morons who are too lazy to bag it & bin it, especially those who fling their poo bags into bushes & trees. We also need to make sure our verges & grass areas are cut properly, so that the colourful little heaps can be seen. Every now & again someone should patrol the worst affected areas, & actually catch someone red (or orange!)-handed, & prosecute them!
    Just out of interest, does anyone know how many people have actually been prosecuted in the last few years by RDC for not clearing up after their pet? There must be thousands of notices on lamp posts, notice boards & at park entrances throughout the district, detailing liability to fines etc, for non-compliance with this bylaw.
    We could urge the Council officers to go a step further & spray paint, (a different colour of course)piles of litter.
    Or is this just a ploy to divert our minds from the hot topic of housing developments? Maybe I am being cynical?
    Please Councillors, in all seriousness, monitor this latest idea to ensure it is a cost effective use of our money!

  • I agree Janet. Whenever I take my dog out I have one of those round the waist bags on. In it I have spare lead, mobile phone, dog poo bags, training treats. If she poos I double bag it and usually end up bringing it home to dispose of it. Some more dog poo bins around the whole area would be nice. I can understand why some people don’t like having to carry it home due to the lack of a suitable receptacle, but quite honestly if you are going to have a dog then poo picking up is part and parcel of life,whether it is out on walks or in your own garden. If you can’t live with that fact, well don’t have a dog.

  • When completed did ths campaign have any positive effect.If so could you please email me any statistical evidence of the campaign areas improving.
    regards
    Andrew

  • One week on, I’ve noticed that there has been a ‘second spraying’ around Rochford. It would seem that more or less the same number of dungpiles have been sprayed. The paint from the ‘first spray’ is still visible, but the dung has been removed and the paint seems to be disintergrating quickly. Some of the tacky posters have been vandalised.

    Isn’t there a law against hanging up tacky posters, or is the district council exempt from it?

  • the dirty disgusting owners that leave dogs poo all along a path outside the school and also on the cricket pitch in Blunsdon ought to have their noses rubbed in it. 99% of the time it is big dogs. little children play football in this field, 5 to 8 year olds use this path daily. it has to stop

  • Daro, as a dog owner I share your disgust. I have a waist bag that I always wear when dog walking in the summer when I have no pockets. In it, amongst other things, are poo bags. It doesn’t take a minute to stop, get a bag out, pick up the doings, tie the bag securely and then dispose of it either in a dog poo bin if one is available, or a rubbish bin, or take it home and dispose of it there. Owners who don’t do this get all of us a bad name. Indeed, I have even picked up other dog’s poo when I’ve spotted it on a playing field or similar.

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