This is one reason why cats are better than dogs. I fully realise that dogs in some respects are better than cats. This is about dog poop.
Here are 6 points about dog poop:
- In the UK, people have to pick up dog poop under bylaws. You see it all the time; owners wearily picking the stuff up with a special technique. It must feel warm and gooey through the plastic bag. The dog poops and the owner pulls out a plastic bag and scoops it up. Normally, the sensible ones, then place the bag in a designated waste bin if the are walking in a park. Some might even take it home to dispose of there. But the silly ones, the crazy ones, and the lazy ones chuck the plastic bag with the poop in it on the ground. Is that mad or what? I suppose they think they are just passing the legal minimum requirement to avoid being prosecuted. Therefore they have no desire to be socially responsible.
- It is indeed a bore to pick up your dog’s poop. This is what Jeremy Paxton thinks, and of course he is correct. He has opinions on litter and he owns a rescue spaniel called Derek. He says: “but dog owners have to realise the streets belong to us all. The people who baffle me are the imbeciles who collect poo in plastic bags, then drop the bag poo on the pavement. We are a filthy country.”
- Dog mess is everywhere and you can partially blame the Covid pandemic. The Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association says 3.2 million households in the UK bought a pet in the first year of the pandemic. There are now an estimated 12 million dogs in the UK. Accordingly, there are 12 million more daily occasions for dog owners to pick up their dog’s poop from the pavement or park. Invariably some won’t so there is more dog poop on the ground in the UK at the moment. P.S. There are 12 m cats in the UK so it is now even stevens when before there were more cats.
- Dog poop contains the DNA of the dog that produced it. Five years ago, Barking and Dagenham Council in East London started a scheme to collect DNA in dog poop and trace it to the owner. The owners had been good citizens because they had previously shared their doggy DNA with the council. After 12 months dog fouling was reduced by 60% according to today’s The Sunday Times report. This led to calls for a national dog DNA database.
- In the UK, an organisation called Clean Up Britain contacted 169 councils. Seventy-two percent admitted to not enforcing the laws against littering which includes littering with dog poop. Littering attracts a £1,000 fine. Who has heard of a dog owner being fined £1,000 for not removing their dog’s poop? There is little incentive for dog caregivers to do that boring and unpleasant job of picking up their dog’s mess.
- The journalist, Jonathan Dean, writing for The Sunday Times said that on the school run last week “We had to walk in the road because there was so much poo on the pavement. I saw some of the stuff smeared up a bin. We no longer allow the children to kick autumn leaves. Parents’ WhatsApp groups name no-go paths that are more toilet than tarmac.
I have a page on why cats are better than dogs! It is meant to be a ‘persuasive essay’. You can read it by clicking on this link. I’ve just added to it: the advantages of never seeing cat poop in the park. Not all cats bury poop though.
LINKED: Why do cats bury their waste?
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