Guest Post: Dog Fouling on the Forest

The enforcement of parking restrictions and introduction of charges has been effective in preventing much of the gateway and some types of verge parking but has had other consequences. Some of the car parks have become less busy and others more so. I happen to live near one which has become more used, or I should say abused. There is a constant stream of dog walkers, both private individuals and commercial businesses. From early in the morning there can be four vans at any one time disgorging large numbers of dogs from each, sometimes seven loose dogs from one vehicle. Those same vans might return once or more during the day. Some are sign written, some not.

Dog walking has become a huge local industry since Covid and I am reliably told that there are around 100 commercial dog walkers who have signed up to a voluntary code of practice. I wonder how many have not signed up and how many of the total do not comply.

A few days ago I marked out a five meter square on the lawn adjacent to the car park and then counted the piles of dog muck within that area. There were 19 piles in that 25 sq. m., so not far off 1 per sq. m.

Some of the dogs may be wormed and killing the dung beetles and others not wormed. In either case it is a damaging abuse of the SSSI, and of the rights and privileges of commoners and other members of the public due to the disgusting state of the lawn for walkers, picnickers who regularly sit on the grass and, of course, a disease risk for the grazing stock.

On the same day that I counted dung piles I saw someone park on the track, let two large dogs out and not even bother to close the car door because they were only there for one brief purpose.

I am fed up with confronting people and spoiling my day and theirs. What will be done by the several bodies with an interest in, and an ability to, take effective control of this abuse?