Dog poo plagues Perth Academy playing field

Feb 5 2010 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

SICKENED parents yesterday condemned the actions of selfish dog walkers who allow their pets to soil Perth Academy’s playing fields.

The school’s parent council has cried foul over trespassers who frequent the Viewlands campus – and brazenly refuse to pick up after their mutts.

Incensed parent council chairman Sandy Scrimgeour said irresponsible dog owners were literally rubbing pupils’ faces in it.

“I find it hard to comprehend the thoughtlessness of owners allowing their dogs to foul the area,” he raged.

“Pupils are returning home with their sports kit stained by dog faeces. It takes little imagination to picture the health hazard, never mind the distress this causes.”

As school grounds are exempt from access rights legislation, out-of-hours public access is at the discretion of the council and the school, which means that legally, dog owners do not have a leg to stand on.

Local councillor Bob Band, who attended the parent council meeting where the repellent matter was first floated, said he was horrified that dog owners believed it was acceptable not to clean up after their pets.

“I would have thought that this old-school type of dog owner was now extinct, but clearly some of the new generation do not have a firm leash on their responsibilities,” he said.

He insisted that culprits should be prosecuted, adding that perpetrators probably did not realise they may already have been captured in action on the school’s CCTV cameras.

If caught red-handed, dog owners who fail to clean up after their dog in a public open place face a £40 fine, which jumps to £60 if unpaid within 28 days.

In what will be a last-chance caution for animal owners, the parent council has commissioned signs – at a cost of about £300 – warning that dogs are not permitted on school grounds.

Mr Scrimgeour said although distressed parents had contacted environmental health officials about possible prosecutions, it was hoped that common sense would prevail.

“We believe that the perpetrators of this disgusting practice are local people and we’ve taken it on as a priority issue,” he said.

“But the first tack we want to take is, let’s get some common sense happening and avoid the need to get environmental health officers involved.

“I appeal to all dog owners who use this area to stop now. I do so for two reasons.

“Firstly, it is the right thing to do, and everyone knows it, (and) secondly, those responsible are breaking the law.”

Of the new signs Mr Scrimgeour said: “We shouldn’t need signs as these dogs shouldn’t be in there, full stop.”