Pyramid of poo highlights reservoir dog fouling hotspot

A Calderdale reservoir has been named as one of the worst places in the region for dog fouling.

Yorkshire Water has given its support to a national campaign by Dogs Trust in a bid to curtail the problem of dog mess littering pathways around Baitings reservoir in Ripponden.

The campaign, called the ‘Big Scoop’ has been created by Dogs Trust with an aim of encouraging all dog owners to act responsible and ‘scoop’ up after their pets.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The water company has revealed that it has spent around £60,000 in the last five years trying to deal with dog mess, but it is still a problem it is trying to fix.

Alastair Harvey, Recreation Advisor at Yorkshire Water, said: “We welcome dog owners to our sites but leaving dog mess spoils the experience for our other visitors.

“So we are asking dog owners to bag it and bin it. We spend around £12,000 a year to tackle the problem and have bins provided at our most popular reservoirs, so we ask people to please use them and help us keep these beauty spots clean and enjoyable for all.”

Research suggests that dog fouling tends to occur at night time and during the winter months, as some dog owners feel that they can’t be seen ‘under the cover of darkness’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Alex Jackson, Campaigns Manager at Dogs Trust, said: “Failing to pick up after your dog gives other dogs and their owners a bad name, and, whilst it is a small minority who don’t scoop their dogs poop, we are hoping the Big Scoop - Dogs Trust nationwide poop campaign - will remind everyone to help keep their local area dog poo free, prompt other owners to pick up dog mess and dispose of it in any public bin.”

As one of Yorkshire’s biggest landowners, around two million people visit Yorkshire Water’s recreational sites each year and the most popular activity is to take dogs for a walk around a reservoir.