A new weapon in the fight to reduce dog fouling in Stone and across the borough has been launched.
Stafford Borough Council’s enforcement officers will be using night vision goggles to combat the disgusting environmental crime which can also have serious consequences for youngsters.
The ‘monocular’ has a built-in laser infrared illuminator which improves viewing in the dark.
The council has targeted hot spots in the past but, during the darker mornings and early evenings, it is more difficult to catch people who have failed to clear up their dog’s mess. The goggles will help officers identify inconsiderate owners on fields and football pitches which would normally be difficult to make out.
It is the latest in a series of initiatives run by the council – with its information ‘reward’ scheme attracting national publicity as well as interest from other councils across the country. The authority also teamed up with the local football league and Staffordshire FA to clamp down on dog fouling on pitches and joined forces with the village of Weston near Stafford to make it the first in the country to be dog poo free.
[box type=”shadow” ]Councillor Frank Finlay, cabinet member for environment and health, said: “We have had tremendous support from the community for our efforts to get rid of this disgusting crime – especially from responsible dog owners who are sick and tired of their inconsiderate counterparts giving them all a bad name.
“We target hot spots from information we get from our residents but with the darker morning and early evenings it is difficult to catch someone who is not cleaning up. These night vision goggles will help us overcome this problem and let people know that, even under the cover of darkness, they cannot get away with showing blatant disregard to their fellow citizens.”[/box]
Information from residents regarding regular time, dates and place of irresponsible dog owners has led to a number of fines and prosecutions over recent years, including in Stone.
[box type=”info” ]You can email dogs@staffordbc.gov.uk to give information in confidence about people who do not clean up after their dogs or call 01785 619402. Further details can be found at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/dogs[/box]
