Bird Watcher telling dog walkers to leave their dog's poo

[SpikyCoconut]

We have a local woman who's always out and about in nature spots with binoculars and other equipment doing her hobby of watching birds.

She tells dog walkers often to leave their dog's poo rather than picking it up, as it attracts a certain type of fly which is what certain birds eat, thus encouraging birds to be in the area, breed, thrive.

What do you think about this?

I'm not sure-she seems very knowledgeable and of course we have to take care of our wildlife, but for obvious reasons I am not sure having poo laying around (and it being illegal!) is a good idea?

In fairness, this is mostly in lesser-popular areas, wooded areas that are mostly quiet in terms of foot traffic rather than in the middle of the street.

Well I hope that dog walkers have sufficient sense and spine to say “that’s well and good but I’m still picking up”

I wouldn’t even bother researching if is it was true or not

How do you know this out of interest oP?

I want to know what sort of bird and what sort of fly. Dog poo is extremely hazardous to livestock.

It’s more likely to introduce non-native intestinal parasites to wild species, hence the advice to always pick it up even in wooded areas. I think she’s being irresponsible actively encouraging people to go against the advice of major wildlife and countryside organisations.

I’m fairly sure, but could be wrong, that’s it’s illegal to leave it. That’s why dog owners can be fined.

I’d ask which authority has approved leaving it to encourage flies, and her position in said authority.

Why even engage with her

it surely wouldn’t matter what she said, you’d pick up the poop?

The quantity of dog poo in popular walking areas is just as much of a problem as the fact that it's hazardous to health. It's changed which species of plants grow and thrive, for example.

It would be interesting to know if it was true or not but I'd still be picking up if it was in a high foot traffic area. If well off the beaten track and not somewhere that, well, gets shat on a lot(!), I tend to get a stick and flick it under a bush as per forestry England's campaign (when I'm on their land) so I might be willing to do similar for the birds of what she is claiming is a real thing.

Just reply: it's an offence not to pick it up

Forestry England specifically asks dog walkers to stick and flick on its land. One of my favourite dog walks is through some of their woods.

It isn’t always

Certain types of exemption exist for selected areas of public land in England and Wales.
As a rule, the primary exemptions relate to:

• Highways which have speed limits of 50mph or more.
• Land used for woodlands or agriculture.
• Parts of rural common land, or that which is mostly marshland, heath land, or moors.

Thanks all. Well I know because I was walking with my friend once and she told my friend to leave (one of her) dog's poo. The same friend walks with someone else who she's apparently also said it to.

Yes the stick and flick thing is what the advice is in some areas but not this one, not rural enough I suppose. I can see why that's appropriate sometimes especially given how poo bags are still not largely biodegradable.

I have only ever not picked my dog's poo up twice, once when I simply couldn't find it (dog had ran off into undergrowth, I saw him squat but poo was hidden-I picked someone else's up on the way home to counteract this!) and once when a different (newly rescued) dog squatted in the middle of a busy road and I figured not being ran over was worth a fine.

What did your friend say in response?

@paladina I quite want to know this too! Google isn't helping.

@Poorlilthing she just smiled and nodded and showed interest. Dog didn't poo after that anyway.

They aren't doing so because "stick and flick" is environmentally friendly or good for wildlife though. As PP say - the parasites are harmful to wildlife, and the poo is damaging to ecosystems.

They are only recommending "stick and flick" because it is the lesser of two evils when compared to the idiotic but common practice of bagging the poo and leaving it on the path or hanging from a bush.

The best thing to do remains to bag it and take the bloody thing away with you.

This annoys me greatly. i would never leave our dog poo behind. Living in the countryside, I've seen people - mainly walkers and other visitors, but some local people too - leave their dog poo without attempting to clear it up, or picking it up using leaves, moss or a bag, (then tying the empty but soiled bag up and taking it with them), and throwing the poo into long grass, bushes or over a wall.

When challenged, the excuses given are always that there's plenty of other poo around from livestock and wildlife, and so their dog poo makes no difference. Or they've thrown it off the footpath so no one will tread in it or see it, so what's the issue?

The issue is that dog poo is toxic, malodorous and can contain parasites. People work and children play in the countryside and woodland off the footpaths. It is also harmful to wildlife and livestock. It is classified as a 'dangerous environmental pollutant'.

The birdwatcher should be ignored or told why she's wrong to encourage people to do that. Dog poo should always been cleaned up, wherever it is.

This

And just because it's legal to leave it in forested or moorland, that doesn't make it OK. It really isn't good for our ecosystems and native wildlife at all.

Never heard this before! Leaving dog shit on the pavement is disgusting. Little kids can walk through it/handle it, adults can walk in it and take it into their car or house, people in wheelchairs will have it stuck in their wheels, and the same with pushchairs, and you can get all kind of disease from it !!! The worst kind of people leave their dog's shit on footpaths!

Well said. I see the same in my (rural) area.

This woman sounds batshit @SpikyCoconut !!!

The 'stick and flick' is terrible advice. It is only given because it is better than dog poo left on paths and bags of dog poo left behind because the lazy, irresponsible types amongst dog walkers can't be bothered to take it with them.

I can't stand seeing bags of dog poo hung up on tree branches/left on walls/floor etc. You may as well not bother picking it up at all if you're going to do that!

Dog poo ( and cat) can and does contain parasites.

I’m really strict about worming meds and to my utter dismay, Dog passed an adult, ALIVE roundworm in poo.

Went to vets immediately to ask why the drug ( Milbeworm) wasn’t working.

Was told that “ Every three months” is fine for some adult dogs- but a wormer only clears out adults already there-
A dog can pick up a worm egg from environment and lick it off paws, or by eating cat poo ( gross)or whatever.

I worm my dog monthly now, and haven’t seen a worm since, thank goodness.

Old dog poo is more dangerous than fresh for worm eggs.

Completely agree.

Hanging bags of dog shite looks so squalid
Just WHY do that?