Angus Council has been accused of putting parking fine “profit” before the war on dog fouling.
Anti-litter crusaders hit out after it emerged the council handed out 8,168 parking charge notices last year but just 29 fixed penalties for dog fouling. 35 offences were detected.
Wendy Murray of Angus Clean Environments said the group was “shocked and frustrated” by the low number of fines for dog fouling.
“It is clear that issuing parking fines has been prioritised above dog fouling because the former generates a ready income as it is easier to detect.
“Identifying the dog owners who allow persistent fouling would require a concerted effort based on local intelligence.
“Dog mess is both a health hazard and social nuisance and, as such, demands more resources directed at minimising and eradicating this particular form of anti-social behaviour.
“It is one of the key reasons we want to see Community Enforcement Officers consolidate roles so that resources are being maximised and used to their full potential.
“Unless enforcement is given the same priority as parking the problems are going to get worse because a small group of the population are lazy, irresponsible and believe that there are no consequences to their actions.
“ACE would like to see people who litter and fail to pick up after their dogs face much harsher penalties such as points on their driving licence but they have to be identified and fixed penalty notices imposed first.”
Community groups waging the war on litter have already uplifted more than 300 dog faeces since January.
An Angus Council spokesman said: “In terms of offences – it is not comparing like with like.
“In almost all circumstances, a car parking offence is immediately identifiable, with clear evidence that makes it straightforward to trace the person responsible. The same cannot be said in the majority of dog fouling incidents. We rely firstly on the dog owner being responsible for their pet as well as their community.
“Thereafter, we rely on people reporting incidents to us so we can investigate. Anyone who sees someone not cleaning up after their dog can report it to us online via our Report Dog Fouling page. While the problem of dog fouling persists in Angus, as it does elsewhere, we have seen a 22.3% drop in the number of dog fouling incidents reported to us.
“Fixed Penalty Notices are just one method of targeting dog fouling. Our officers carry out high visibility and covert patrols in addition to public education and prevention efforts that Angus Council undertakes along with partner agencies.
“Ultimately, the responsibility rests with the dog owner. As well as being against the law, failing to pick up after your pet in public spaces is selfish, unpleasant antisocial and presents a very serious health risk, particularly to children.
“We have around 1600 dual litter bins (which can be used for disposing of dog faeces) and dog waste bins across Angus and available for use. Dog owners can also buy dog bags from ANGUSalive libraries, sports centres and Ranger’s centres.
“It is the actions of dog walkers that can make the greatest difference by picking up after their dog’s straightaway, bagging it and binning it. We will continue to task our enforcement staff to areas which cause most concern to our communities in both issues of dog fouling and parking.”
Community wardens are banned from tackling other issues — such as litter or dog fouling — while they are on parking duty in the county.
Angus Clean Environments asked the Scottish Government to examine the legislation after describing the local authority’s existing policy as “bizarre”.
