Time to cry foul on dog owners with ‘sting’ operation

A STING operation should be mounted to crack down on dog fouling in Cork, a city councillor said.

Fianna Fáil’s Terry Shannon said just one conviction of a dog owner for the offence would send out a message that allowing dogs to defecate in public areas just not acceptable. “We need to get serious on this issue,” he said.

He was speaking during a debate on the issue at Monday’s council meeting. He said dog fouling in public areas is illegal and a serious health hazard.

“Dogs are very predictable. They are creatures of habit,” he said. Their owners let them out at the same time every day to do their business, usually in the same places.

“We should initiate a sting operation to target them and send out a strong message that this disgusting practice is just not acceptable.”

Sinn Féin’s Henry Cremin said residents off Model Farm Road tackled a man who used to bring his pet dog in a car to their green every morning and allow him run around and defecate on the grass.

“We collared him, as a residents’ association, and he didn’t come back,” Mr Cremin said.

But Lord Mayor Cllr Dara Murphy said it was the responsibility of the Gardaí to issue fines to dog owners.