To think a £50 on the spot fine for having a dog and no poo bag is a good idea?

[MothershipG]

Daventry to fine dog walkers who go out without poo bags

I think that this an excellent idea and should be implemented nationally. It is so hard for local councils to fine people for dog fouling as they practically have to catch them in the act. Anyone with a dog should always be prepared for a poo pick up. I really can't see any downsides.

I know that it won't stop the worse offenders who literally don't give a shit (pun intentional ) but surely it would help?

I am the owner of 3 dogs so I always go equipped with multiple bags and have extras in every bag and coat pocket I own. I not infrequently get asked by other walkers if I can give them a spare, which I am happy to do, but really how hard is it to remember bags?

I also operate a system of poo karma; if I think that there is even a chance I haved missed one (tiny brown poos in a sea of brown leaves can be a challenge!) I will pick up the next random poo I come across, thus keeping the poo karma in balance.

as a rule I dislike draconian punishments. However, I'd quite happily see the death penalty for littering (which uncollected dogshit is a variety of).

People who litter are announcing to the world they don't give a fuck about you or where you and your family live and the safety and security of your environment. They are - in some cases literally - shitting on your doorstep.

I'm a tad wary of the "broken windows" theory. But I would believe someone with as little respect for your (and their) environment capable of anything.

YANBU. A personal bugbear. I have gone to battle with several unsavoury neighbours over this, they are so unbelievably brazen.

Councils' outright disregard for enforcing dog poo laws (particularly given their unwavering devotion to parking laws) absolutely incenses me.

I encourage everyone on this thread to file freedom of information requests to their local councils regarding the number of fines they have issued. Shame them into action!

spray painting poo

why would you do this

Art for Arts sake maybe

Need to bring back compulsory dog licencing as well as have compulsory microchipping and compulsory DNA testing. The money paid for licence/licence renewal could pay for DNA testing of dog shit. Unlicensed dogs would be rehomed.

Would this work?

Spray painting poo makes it much more visible.

Compulsory chipping is coming in from April I believe.

Chipping doesn't do much on its own (for the dog poo) issue - need DNA profile linked with chip.

Looks liek they are going to try and make DNA testing compulsory too in Barking
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2015/apr/28/dna-testing-dog-poo-have-to-be-barking-council

I don't think we should be penalising people for a crime they haven't committed.

How will it work, though?

My dog often does two or three poos on one walk. Sometimes I only have three bags with me. So, say I've used them all and thrown them in bins, why would it be reasonable or fair to fine me? Do I have to carry a bag of poo for an hour to prove a point?

I think it's silly. And I never, ever leave dog poo around.

Exactly, Maid

Ridiculous idea. So if someone's walking their dog and they realise they only have one bag left, dog does his business do they pick up the poo risking a fine or do they leave the poo, keeping the bag?
Secondly when I have forgotten poo bags I scoop up the poo with a bit of litter and chuck it in the bin, so just because someone doesn't have bags does not mean they leave poo.

Is it really that hard to carry five, six poo bags?

Is it really that hard to carry five, six poo bags?

No.

But that's not the pertinent question, which is:

"Should it be illegal to not carry five, six poo bags?".

IMO, no, it should not be illegal. You might not need the bags. Bags might not be the only way to pick up the poo. You might be the kind of person who is prepared to carry an unexpected shit home in your own pocket, for all the police know.

Problem is, unless there is some way to prevent all the selfish twats who don't pick up owning dogs, dog law will have to cover the lowest common denominator

Today I took my pooch for a walk with 3 poo bags, she did one straight away (which i picked up) then decided to do another one at the end. Fine, I thought as I have another, but nope, they must have blown out when i took the 1st one out. Luckily the car was just round the corner, so went to get one and went back to pick it up.

Well, it's not 'hard' to carry 10 poo bags, if you've got them lying around, for that matter. But why would you? Your dog's not going to poo 10 times (or 6, for that matter) on one walk.

If anyone doesn't pick up their dog's poo around here, it's because they're lazy, selfish fuckers, not because they don't have a bag. There are free bags hanging off the council rubbish bins on every second corner.

I'd rather fine the fuckers who think it's acceptable to bag up their dogshit and shove it into my hedge, than someone who puts the waste in the correct bin just around the corner but might then go home with empty pockets.

yabu. i havee two dogs. one is a shit factory and has caught me out with his 157 micropoos per walk. The other does one poo. garunteed - so one bag would be all I need.

Because I have 3 dogs who regularly do more than one poo each on a walk I always go out with handfulls of bags, but they squidge up really small or you can get one of these dispensers that attach to your lead. You can even sew your own.

Come on, we all hate dog poo that's left, surely taking a few extra bags is no big deal if it could encourage a few people to be more diligent about picking up?

It's not going to encourage anyone, though.

The lazy ones who don't pick up, will just make sure they have one bag that's always tied to their leash, to avoid a fine.

How is that going to help the dog poo problem?

It is a great idea, my house is on a main road, tge amount of dog poo in my garden is awful. Lazy feckers not picking up.

You're probably right Koala

We'll have to come back in 6 months and see if it has made any difference in the places it has been implemented.

As much as I think people who don't pick up after their dog are irresponsible, I don't like the idea of fining people like this because it would just be impossible to police and those people who were "caught short" as it were would have no redress. I would prefer more responsibility for having a dog, dog licences and dogs should have to be chipped otherwise the dog is taken away. I think too many dog owners have no idea about the responsibility involved in having a dog which is why I would not entertain having one.

Well, I don't really want to be right - I think not picking up dog poo is utterly foul and antisocial, and I'd support anything that helped. But I can't really see this working.