A campaign to encourage more dog owners to act responsibly has resulted in hundreds of people pledging to pick up after their pets.
Durham County Council – backed by town and parish councils – carried out a month-long campaign to promote responsible dog ownership.
During the campaign, which ran from February 6 to March 6, neighbourhood wardens across the county investigated 412 reports of dog fouling and issued 26 fixed penalty notices and 19 warning letters.
They also handed out 460 ‘golden tickets’ to dog owners who were seen acting responsibly and picking up after their pets, putting them in with a chance of winning a prize draw.
The council’s green dog walkers’ scheme – in which members agree to always pick up after their pet and carry extra waste bags to offer to other dog walkers who don’t have one – was also promoted during the campaign with 361 people signing up and a further 86 people taking the scheme’s pledge cards away with them to fill in later.
Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager the Council, said: “The vast majority of dog owners in the County are responsible and do pick up after their pets. “However, due to the actions of a minority of people, dog fouling remains a major concern. “I am delighted that we have been able to get the message across to so many people that we will respond to complaints about dog fouling through this campaign.
“We will continue to act upon any information we receive and would urge people who have details of incidents to get in touch so that we can respond.”
As well as targeting the problem of dog fouling, Durham County Council’s Civic Pride Team has also organised a number of free microchipping events, which led to 706 dogs being microchipped so that they can be easily returned to their owners if they become lost or stray.
The Civic Pride Team also organised education sessions about responsible dog ownership in 22 schools.
Durham County Council’s Neighbourhood Wardens also issued 89 fixed penalty notices for littering and 13 fixed penalty notices for failure to comply with a litter clearing notice during February.
