Dog fouling a council priority

IN response to the letter from Alan Menzies (News, May 14) complaining about dog dirt on the pitches at Saughton Park, I would like to assure him that the council is determined to take the strongest possible action against irresponsible dog owners who allow their pets to foul the city’s streets and public parks.

It is an offence for anyone in charge of a dog to allow it to foul certain public places and enforcement options open to the council’s environmental wardens range from verbal and written warnings, to the issue of statutory and fixed penalty notices or reporting offenders to the Procurator Fiscal for further action.

In addition, the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill, which will come into effect in November, will give the police and local councils the option of issuing fixed penalty notices of 40, increasing to 60 if not paid within 28 days from the day after the offence is committed. Conviction for non-payment of the fixed penalty could result in a fine of up to 1000.

Dog fouling offences can be reported directly to the environmental wardens by telephoning 0131-529 3030 and any information relating to possible offenders greatly assists the wardens in dealing with this problem.

Councillor R Cairns, executive member for environmental services Edinburgh City Council