The Northern Chamber of Commerce, which represents shops and businesses in Ramsey, has launched what appears to be the island’s first campaign against dog wee.
‘Dog Pee and Poo’ posters have been circulated around the town, asking shopkeepers to readily supply bags and water to wash away any dog fouling that occurs in the street.
According to these, people are now ‘expected’ to wash away any pee, using water from one of the participating businesses, as well as pick up their dog dirt.
Ffinlo Williams, chairman of Ramsey Town Commissioners, commented: ‘There certainly appears to have been an increase in dog related complaints over the past few years within the town.
‘Previously to this I felt we were beginning to get on top of the enforcement of our dog bylaws thanks to our town warden, unfortunately, due to contractual and other issues we have been without a town warden for some time now which has lead to what seems to be an increase in people breaking the bylaws. We have recently appointed a community warden who is keen and eager to get stuck in and is passionate about the town.’
Mr Williams continued: ‘I’m glad the Northern Chamber of Commerce are being proactive and I’m hopeful that alongside now having a person on the ground who is able to enforce the bylaws, we can again begin to bring the town to a place where the inconsiderate dog owners know they will be fined and start to follow the laws alongside their fellow considerate dog owners.
‘I do believe this approach will make a difference to dog fouling and I would also remind the public that if they take a photo or video of anyone breaking the bylaws and send it to the town hall via the “contact us” form on our website (www.ramsey.gov.im) or email [email protected] , we can also take enforcement action from that so long as the individual(s) are identifiable.’
He added: ‘Obviously the shop owners are aware of the issues in the town centre and remain vigilant, but our community warden can’t be everywhere at once and with the help of residents it adds another feather to our enforcement cap to try to curtail the problem.’
And commissioner Juan McGuinness said that the campaign ‘could be a really positive thing’.
Last month, Douglas Council proposed the idea of implementing mobile CCTV units to combat the issue of dog fouling in the capital.
Lampposts can collapse if they are corroded by dog urine, according to this report.