Despite the very much appreciated efforts of responsible dog owners who pick up after their dogs whilst walking them along Fordwych and St Cuthberts Roads, there remains a group of irresponsible dog owners and walkers who seemingly could care less about their dogs, their neighbours, their community and the law.
Camden Council is addressing this problem with public education, fines, and now a bit of lateral thinking. Sally Gimson, Camden's environmental boss, said the pink paint, which is really non-toxic chalk spray, was being used to warn pedestrians and "send a message to those responsible that their actions are being noticed by others."
Camden is the first London borough to adopt the abandoned dog poo spray painting scheme which has been piloted successfully in other places around the country, such as in West Dunbartonshire, where the practice has dramatically and positively changed dog owner behaviour.
And according to Cllr Phil Jones, "We all love Camden and we want to keep our borough clean. That’s why we’re taking a tougher approach to litter, fly-tipping and dog fouling, which are not only disgusting and anti-social, they are also illegal. We know clean streets matter, and it is a small
number of people who are behaving badly and having a big effect on everyone. We want to change
offender behaviour through enforcement as well as education, so that we can all enjoy cleaner streets and not have to spend more money than is necessary keeping our borough clean.
We have set up a new education and enforcement team to increase the action being taken to tackle
these issues. We will stop and catch offenders in their tracks, educate the community on the correct ways to get rid of waste, and teach our youngest residents about the perils of enviro-crime.
We’re also calling on residents to help us crack down on offenders. We would like your help and
intelligence identifying local enviro-crime hotspots or offenders so we can target our work. If you do
know anything report it to us, and we will use this alongside our own evidence to take action. Anyone caught committing an offence will be issued with an £80 fixed penalty notice, and fly-tippers face being prosecuted and fined up to £20,000."
Cllr Jones added, "We need as much information as possible to tackle these issues. Please report online at www.camden.gov.uk/cleancamden or call 020 7974 4444. You can remain anonymous. Thank you for helping to keep Camden clean."
The Fordwych Road/St Cuthberts Road area has been recognised as an habitual area for illegal dog fouling, dumping and fly-tipping by the Camden Council. So irresponsible dog owners and walkers, take notice of your pink sprayed mess and make a new year's resolution to clean up after your pets, bag it, and bin it, please! Nine out of ten dog owners, the ones who look after their dogs and their environment, act with care and consideration. So thanks so much for that, and let's all try to get the minority offenders on board.
Keep calm and carry on spray painting dog poo pink!
