Not to be sniffed at! The ‘Bag It and Bin It’ campaign to rid Marlborough of dog mess

Marlborough Town Council together with Drove Veterinary Hospital have launched a campaign to encourage all dog owners to clean up after their dogs by bagging and binning any dog mess.  The campaign is the brain child of Jane Carter, Marketing Co-ordinator and Tracey Churchill, receptionist, at Drove Vets.  Jane has previously worked on a similar campaign to help clean up the streets in Swindon.

Drove Vets have designed an eye-catching poster to promote the drive to ensure all green spaces and paths in Marlborough are free from dog mess and safe for everyone to enjoy.  The poster was launched this morning (February 19) on a Marlborough Common rubbish bin.

Dogs, Max, Myah, Retro, Pepper and Georgie looked on as their responsible owners placed bags of dog mess in the bin.

Mayor Mervyn Hall said, “We are really pleased to be working with Drove Veterinary Hospital on this campaign.  It’s a very real problem in Marlborough and all of our open spaces are plagued with what can only be described as discourteous and anti-social behaviour.  Dog mess can be bagged and put into any bin for collection.  Instead we see dog mess everywhere, even hanging in bags on branches of trees.  Let’s try to sort it out.”

Legally it is an offence not to remove and dispose of dog mess in a public place and failure to do so can incur fixed fines of £75 rising to £1000 for serious offenders.  There is also the health risk as there are several diseases such as campylobacter, salmonella, giardia and worms, which humans and dogs can catch from dog faeces.  Children are at greater risk as they are more likely to place dirty hands in their mouths.

Emma Coles, vet at Drove Veterinary Hospital said, “With 8 million dogs owned in the UK, it is fair to say that we are still a nation of dog lovers, but with ownership comes responsibility, and a mounting issue for many people is the offensive mess left in public places.  Let’s all act responsibly so we can all enjoy our fantastic local environment.”

A useful handout about the health and legal implications of dog fouling, written by Emma Coles, is available to download at www.marlborough-tc.gov.uk