People not cleaning up after pets 'are giving two fingers to everyone', says Cork councillor 

Cork County Council may introduce education programme to combat increasing dog fouling

Owners who do not clean up after their pets face a fine of up to €2,000.

Cork County Council is looking at the possibility of a countywide education programme to combat increasing dog fouling and to employ dog wardens out of hours to catch rogue owners who fail to clean up after their pets.

It comes after a councillor said "rogue dog owners" in a North Cork town “are giving two fingers” to the rest of the community and the local authority because they believe they won’t get caught for not cleaning up after their pets and face a fine of up to €2,000.

The claim was made at a meeting of the Kanturk/Mallow Municipal District Council by Labour councillor Ronan Sheehan.

He made it after putting forward a motion that district council officials consider increase the number and visibility of dog fouling signage in Mallow, including parks, on footpaths and other public spaces to raise awareness and encourage responsible pet ownership.

Mr Sheehan said it is a particular issue “the whole time” at Beecher’s St, St Joseph’s Rd and on the Cork Rd and he was “looking for solutions” to this.

Fianna Fáil councillor Pat Hayes, who owns a business in the town centre, suggested that the council carry out some kind of awareness campaigns at local schools, “which could make a huge difference.” 

Municipal district officer Claire Barr said she doubted that putting up any more anti-dog-fouling signs would have any impact on those who aren’t adhering to their responsibilities.

Mr Sheehan said: “These people [who don't clean up after their pets] are giving two fingers to everyone. We need to police this. The dog wardens must be prepared to wait in the bushes (to catch them).” 

He said the problem is likely to occur outside of 9am to 5pm when the culprits assume dog wardens won’t be operating and this needs to be addressed.

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Ms Barr said she would contact the dog wardens about their operating hours.

“A more effective approach is to shift from signage saturation to a comprehensive awareness and engagement campaign that addresses attitudes, knowledge and social norms surrounding responsible dog ownership. This effects all towns across the county and the council’s community, tourism and rural directorate will raise the issue with senior management and see if a co-ordinated countywide campaign could be investigated,” Ms Barr said.

“There’s a small minority spoiling it for everybody else,” commented municipal chairman Fianna Fail councillor Gearoid Murphy.