THE amount of dog mess around Peel was raised directly with the commissioners at the end of their public board meeting.
Concerned Peel mother Sarah Faragher voiced concerns and revealed that when she had challenged dog walkers whom she had seen fail to clean up after their dogs, she had received abuse.
She explained how one morning while taking her children to school she had to negotiate four piles of dog mess and her daughter ended up with some on her shoe.
The commissioners had discussed during their meeting the possibility of Hospice holding a walk in April on the promenade, which Mrs Faragher said would be nice, but for the dog foul. She also lamented the dog mess that has been left around visitor attraction Peel Castle.
Commissioners’ chairman Eric Beale revealed that someone was taken to court for the offence of not cleaning up after their dog and was fined.
Commissioners’ clerk Peter Leadley further explained that when the warden spotted a dog foul, and the mess was left, he issued a fixed penalty to the owner.
The matter was disputed, but the owner was found guilty in court and the £50 fixed penalty was increased to £100. However, the commissioners ended up having to pay significant legal costs.
Commissioner Alan Jones said there was no short-term fix for the problem, but it came down to ‘education, enforcement and interaction with dog owners’.
He explained that a picture of an adult not cleaning up dog mess, taken in a public place, could be handed into police.
Mrs Faragher encouraged people to do this.
‘So many people feel strongly about this,’ she said. ‘Wander around and, if you see anyone, take pictures. There would be people willing to do that.’
She acknowledged that many dog owners do clean up after their pets and it was a ‘small minority of people letting everyone down’.
Commissioner Ian Davison said that people might find that the amount of dog mess around the town reduces as the nights get lighter.
Dog mess bags are available from Peel Town Hall in Derby Road for members of the public to take and use.
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