CONCERNS have again been raised about the amount of dog mess left on the streets of Peel.
Residents are fed up with dog walkers who leave their animals’ mess and therefore spoil the beauty and enjoyment of the town for others.
A group of residents turned up at Peel Town Commissioners’ meeting on Tuesday and voiced their concerns to commissioners in the recess, following the public part of the meeting.
Commissioners are contemplating having a public meeting about the matter, but it’s not known how valuable this would be as commissioners are well aware of the issue.
The commissioners employ a town warden who can issue fixed penalty fines to dog owners for not cleaning up after their dog.
But the board only has finite resources to plough into more measures to tackle the issue and instead are keen to work with the community of Peel to find a solution.
Commissioners’ chairman Eric Beale would welcome helpful suggestions about how to approach the problem.
Mr Beale pointed out that the problem of irresponsible dog owners not cleaning up after their pets is an island-wide one.
‘It boils down to education, but we just need assistance,’ he said. ‘The difficulty is that the money from the [town] rates can only go so far. We need help.’
He explained photos taken of adults not cleaning up after their dogs could be handed into the town hall, so the commissioners then have something tangible to work with while they decide their policy to tackle the problem.
Mr Beale said a concerted effort was needed to clean up the town.
At the recess of Tuesday commissioners’ meeting, Peel mum Sarah Faragher raised the dog mess matter and she was followed be another Peel resident who spoke about her desire to Keep Peel Tidy – similar to the Keep Britain Tidy campaign in the UK – and she brought home to everyone there how the town is a place of history, beauty and friendly people. However, she said there is a remnant of mindless dog owners who are having an impact on the impression people who live outside the town are getting.
The group of residents sought advice about what they can do and what support the commissioners, police or MHK can give.
Some suggestions raised by the group were that Peel Castle is made a dog-free zone; members of the public photograph and report offending dog walkers to the police each time; increase CCTV coverage (although this is not a possibility presently); stop and alert offending walkers – although this resulted in one person having an egg thrown at their house; finally, educate people in the town about the issue to keep the matter in people’s minds continually.
Inspector of the Western Neighbourhood Policing Team, Darrill Pearson said: ‘We have been made aware of the issue and my team will be supporting the efforts of the commissioners, who are looking to address the concern which impacts upon the quality of life of members of the community.’
• Free bags to clean up after dogs are available from the town hall in Derby Road.