Scoop it Up! campaign

We’re fed up with dog muck! There’s too much of it on our streets, our parks and in our playgrounds in south Leeds.

Scoop It Up!

South Leeds Life, with support from the community, is running its Scoop It Up campaign to try and educate people to pick up their pet’s dog muck – and to encourage people to report offenders. We know that most dog owners are very responsible and do pick up after their pets, but a small group of people choose to ignore the rules.

Check out out our latest posts on Scoop It Up here.

Dog fouling is unsightly, unpleasant and can occasionally lead to toxocariasis in humans – which can cause serious illness, even blindness.

It is the responsibility of the dog owner or the person in charge of the dog to clear up any dog muck left by their dog or face a fixed penalty notice of £75. Failure to accept or pay a fixed penalty notice will result in prosecution action through the magistrates court, which carries a penalty of £1,000.

Those dog owners that bag the mess but don’t bin it (for example they dispose of the bag in a hedge, a tree or a garden) could face an additional offence for littering, which carries a separate maximum court penalty of £2,500.

Report it

You can help to take a stand against dog fouling in south Leeds by reporting offences. When reporting an offence of dog fouling think about the following:

  • Do you know of a dog owner who never or hardly ever picks up after their pet?
  • Do they usually walk the dog at a certain time during the day?
  • What times are the offences being committed?
  • Where are the offences being committed?
  • What does the dog look like?
  • What does the owner look like?
  • If the dog owner is using a car, what is the number on the registration plate?

If you would like to report a dog fouling offender contact the council with as many details as possible either by telephone or email. Remember the more information you can give the greater chance there is of offenders being caught.

Top tips for being dog savvy are:

  • Always be ready to clean up after your dog by taking a poop scoop or a supply of bags with you whenever you leave the house
  • Where possible dispose of dog faeces in either a dog waste bin or seal it well using a bag which can then be carefully placed in a standard public litter bin.
  • As well as clearing up your dog’s mess you can help reduce any risk to the public by regularly worming your dog.

Love dogs? Hate dog fouling? If you know of someone who persistently fails to pick up after their pet, report them – telephone 0113 222 4407 or email environmental.action@leeds.gov.uk.

You can also report problems to the council through the wonderful Fix My Street website.

You can also help South Leeds Life map where the biggest problems with dog fouling are by adding problem areas to our interactive map below:

[googlemaps http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=209848322150562424961.0004bdb6b8e460a311a89&msa=0&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=53.76739,-1.548611&spn=0.016653,0.00766&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

To navigate around the map, simply use the ‘pan’ circle in the top left hand corner of the map. You may find it easier to view the larger version of the map – simply click the ‘view larger map’ at the bottom left of the map.

The map is open for you to add your reports to or amend any details that are on there – it’s not a comprehensive list.  Please do still contact the council to make a formal report. Our map is really easy to use. Simply click on ‘view larger map’ and click on ‘edit’ in the left hand column. You will need to be logged into your Google account – you can create a Google account here if you don’t have one. You’re now ready to add to the map.

A blue placemarker will show up in the top left hand corner – simply drag the placemarker to where you want it to go on the map, and double click on it to add your details. If you’re adding a link, click onto ‘rich text’ on the marker to show the tools which will allow you to do this and highlight the word you want to add the link to. Once you’ve finished adding all the details you want, click OK.

Then go back to the column to the left of the map, click ‘saved’ then ‘done’ – and that’s it! Easy!

16 Replies to “Scoop it Up! campaign”

  1. I have a neighbour who leaves his two dogs outside alon most of the day. I’ve reported the dogs, one of which is quite aggressive. We have a communial garden and the mess is awful. When the council asked the man about dog fouling he denied it, so they can’t do anything. What’s the point of reporting it if the dog owner is just going to say, ‘not me’ and get away with it?

  2. Came home today, the 2 dogs from the above post and 2 girls were playing in front of my home. One of the dogs ran towards me barking and growling at me, thought he was going to bite. Second time this has happened. Phoned BITMO, no answer, Phoned police told they can’t do anything until I’m bitten. Great.
    Thinking since I seem to be only one commenting on thi site, maybe everyone else knows the truth… no one (council, police, etc…) gives a toss.

  3. I work in Hunslet and bring my dog to work so I walk her nearby. I also pick up after her, but I am in a minority. It does not help that there is not one bin on the park so nowhere to get rid of the bagged poo.

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