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Leave only paw prints on the pavements

Published: 14/12/2022

Children from two Flintshire schools have joined forces with the Council to help raise awareness about the issue of dog fouling at Central Park and Golftyn Park, Connah’s Quay.

In cooperation with Keep Wales Tidy, and to reflect their ‘Bin it, bag it campaign’, students from Ysgol Bryn Deva and Golftyn School took part in a trial event to encourage dog owners to pick up after their pooches.  

The keen eyed children helped by environmental enforcement officers and local councillors, walked through the park, observing the ‘don’t touch, tell’ ethos and pointing out dog poo they saw, for the adults to then mark with a flag.  The children helped share the ‘bag it, bin it’ and ‘leave only paw prints’ message by spraying biodegradable, washable chalk spray on the pavements, leading dog owners to the appropriate bins. The children had the opportunity to hear from Groundwork North Wales and local residents about the issues of dog fouling and how it impacts their lives and the environment. Local dog owners were grateful to receive free dog poo bags and to see the new ‘glow in the dark’ signs to highlight bins in the dark winter hours.  The unbelievable amount of flagged dog poo was later cleared by the Council.

Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Transportation, Councillor Dave Hughes, said:

“Dog fouling continues to be a problem in Flintshire. Although many of our dog owners do pick up after their dogs, we are appealing to the small minority of irresponsible dog owners to keep public areas and pavements free from dog mess.”

Jemma Bere, Keep Wales Tidy Policy and Research Manager said:

 “Although an estimated nine out of ten dog owners pick up after their pets, dog poo remains a persistent issue in communities across the country. Dog poo can pose a risk to human health but also to a number of other animals too. To promote positive and responsible dog ownership to the minority of dog owners who don’t pick up after their pets, bright pink paw prints are being painted across Wales to easily guide people to the nearest bin. These eye-catching paw prints are accompanied by bin stickers and signage to make it as easy as possible for people to find a dog poo bin and do the right thing.”

Ene from Golftyn School said: "To the people who don't pick up their dog poop, please pick it up because if YOU stepped into it, YOU wouldn't like it." 

Lexie from Golftyn School said: "There was lots of dog poo in Golftyn Park, in fact someone let their dog poo whilst we were there! It's disgusting and horrid to play there with all that mess."