Council set to hold dog fouling blitz

LISBURN City Council is to carry out a blitz campaign to crack down on dog fouling in the city and surrounding areas.

At Monday night’s meeting of the full Council Alderman Allan Ewart proposed the Council do a “blitz across the city for about a month”, to try and catch people who do not pick up their dog’s mess.

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Andrew Ewing, Chairman of the Council’s Environmental Services Committee and agreed by members.

Mr Ewing said: “Dogs are a great asset to any home. I am a dog lover and I have two dogs myself but the easiest thing to do is lift up after them and be a responsible owner.

“The Council dog wardens are operating a zero tolerance approach where owners found not lifting up after their dog will receive a £50 fine. Most owners are responsible - it is a shame that there are still owners out there who are not listening and are acting irresponsibly by letting their dog foul without lifting it up. The working group set up to deal with fouling will be monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis to help try and resolve these issues and as Chairman of Environmental Services I dedicate myself to this task.”

Councillor Alan Carlisle suggested introducing a bigger fine and advertising names of offenders. The Council was informed however that the current rates for dog fouling fines were set at Stormont.

Councillor Uel Mackin said he totally agreed there si a “serious problem”. He said: “People need to waken up and see that we mean business.”

The Mayor Alderman William Leathem said; “There’s a lot of health issues. People don’t understand the seriousness of it.”

Over the past couple of week’s the Star has highlighted the issue of dog fouling and the debate still rages - see our letters section on page 18.

We initially highlighted the problem at Pond Park where a local grandfather voiced his concerns.

The story prompted a number of calls to our office and you also had your say on Facebook.

To join the debate register on our website and comment, email us on news@ulsterstar,co.uk or write to the Editor, Ulster Star, 12A Bow Street, Lisburn.

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