The row over the issue of dog fouling has continued with Lochs councillor Alex Rowley asking the public to report any instances to the council offices or by phoning the contact centre. He told the Times; “Sadly the SNP councillors in this area refused to discuss the concerns around the this issue at the last area meeting when they got up and walked out when the matter was to be discussed. Even more sad, the SNP councillors in charge of street cleaning are denying there is a problem and claiming that apart from the odd stray dog there is no issue”.
Mr Rowley has also been critical of the new arrangements in place for street cleaning whereby street sweepers were removed from their beats and put into flying squads being driven round communities to do clean ups where required. He said; “As part of an approach to cleaner and safer neighbourhoods we need people on the ground taking responsibility for areas and working with local communities. Driving around and dropping people off to pick up litter now and then is not the best use of this resources and needs a re think. Removing the availability of the biodegradable bags was also a backward step given that over a million were being used every year.
While highlighting that the majority of dog owners take responsibility for cleaning up after their pets, Mr Rowley said it basically comes down to a minority of dog owners who behave in an irresponsible way.
He added; “Ultimately if we can get that minority of irresponsible people to accept that they just cannot allow their dogs to foul the streets and parks and walk away then we will put a stop to the problem. SNP councillors denying there is a problem will achieve nothing and I will now press ahead with meeting those services who can help tackle this problem. But the wider community can make a difference by reporting fouling and if they see dog owners being irresponsible then report them and we will create a culture where it is no longer acceptable to take your dog out and not clean up at the back of it”.
