Inconsiderate Reading dog walkers who fail to clean up their pets mess will be targeted this week as part of a council blitz.
A footpath that runs between two schools – Geoffrey Field School and Christ the King Schools in Whitley – will be the focus of the Reading enforcement blitz after complaints by walkers and the two local schools.
Dog mess regularly left along the footpath is a growing problem, with children regularly walking dog mess into the school buildings as a result.
Each year thousands of complaints are received by local authorities nationally about dog mess. While the majority of owners are responsible and pick up after their dog, a careless few are still giving dog owners a bad name. And locally Reading Borough Council’s recent ‘We Need To Talk’ consultation showed one of the major areas Reading residents wanted strong action on were anti-social dog walkers who failed to clean up after their pets.
Next Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th of January, Reading Council enforcement officers will be positioned along the footpath in Whitley, both before the school day begins and after school, to target inconsiderate dog walkers. Any dog mess left behind will be sprayed pink to highlight the problem and fines of £75 will be issued if necessary.
The Council’s Streetcare Team is contacting the schools to ask if children can design posters which can then be placed along the footpath fence to help educate dog walkers.
Paul Gittings, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Environment and Climate Change, said: “It is not a surprise that the recent ‘We Need to Talk’ consultation showed dog mess up as one of people’s major bugbears. We as councillors regularly receive complaints about it. I hope this small initiative in Whitley can be replicated elsewhere in the borough and will help to educate some inconsiderate dog walkers about how important it is to clean up after their pets.”
Reading Borough Council
