Alex Trelinski
EL CAMPELLO council plans to set up police patrols to catch inconsiderate dog owners who are forcing cleaning services to sweep up 73 tonnes of pet excrement each year.
Despite potential fines of up to €3,000 for offenders and a series of information campaigns, the council says that ‘uncivil behaviour’ is still very much continuing.
The council says it has become a ‘serious problem’ and damages the clean image of the area that it is trying to portray to tourists.
The FCC cleaning contractor collects around 200 kilos of dog waste each day from all corners of El Campello.
Some of the worst offending spots are the urban area, Muchavista and the northern part of the municipality.
FCC says they find the waste on roads, pavements, parks and gardens in ‘all shapes and sizes’.
The council has once again appealed for dog owners to use plastic bags to pick up the mess which can be disposed of in plastic bins.
El Campello’s Maintenance and Services councillor, Rafa Galvan, said that 270,000 poop bags are quickly taken from 36 dispensers but don’t seem to be used.
“People certainly take them but many simply choose to leave their pets’ excrement on public roads,” said Galfan.
Despite fines ranging between €100 and €3,000, only a dozen cases have been filed in the last year by the Policia Local, as officers need to catch a dog ‘in the act’ with an owner not doing anything about the mess.
The council is in the process of changing local ordinances based on last year’s national Animal Welfare Law to allow more flexibility to allow police to take action.
Extra police patrols are set to be assigned to areas which have the greatest problems of dog mess not being picked up.
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