Nottingham City Council’s ‘We’re Watching You’ campaign has moved into Berridge Ward this week to tackle irresponsible dog owners.
The City Council has joined forces with environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy in a bid to reduce dog fouling in key problem areas in the city.
The campaign sets its sights on irresponsible dog owners, with recent research showing that dog walkers are more responsible and pick up after their dogs, when they think that they are being watched.
Last year Keep Britain Tidy conducted a campaign pilot, funded by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affair (Defra), working with land managers across the country. This pilot saw an average reduction of 46% in the levels of dog fouling.
Feedback 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.’
Nottingham Council City will be running the edgy and uncompromising campaign to tackle dog fouling hotspots. The We’re Watching You’ series of signs are visible after dark.
Cllr Nicola Heaton, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at Nottingham City Council, said: “Feedback from residents in our Respect Survey and other engagement platforms has told us that dog fouling is a key issue in some areas in the city, that they would like to see addressed.
“We know that the public perceive dog fouling to be by far the most unacceptable and dirtiest type of litter. Because of this we work hard across the city to clean up dog fouling but we need to continue to tackle irresponsible dog owners to stop this issue in the first place.
“The vast majority of dog owners are responsible people, who habitually pick up after their dog and dispose of the poo bags correctly, either in the nearest bin or by taking home to dispose of in their own household waste bin.
“We are thrilled to be working with Keep Britain Tidy, and being a part of such a cutting edge campaign.”
On day one of the campaign the glow-in-the-dark posters will be installed on key hotspot streets that Nottingham City Council’s intelligence suggests are the worst for dog fouling. This intelligent comes from reports from citizens as well as our Public Realm Operatives who work with our FIDO (Faeces Intake Disposal Operation) vehicle.
This first week will also see a ‘Day of Action’ in each area with Nottingham City Council’s Neighbourhood Development Officers, Community Protection and local ward councillors working with Public Realm Operatives to engage with the local community about the campaign.
The posters will be displayed in the neighbourhood for three weeks, when monitoring will take place to determine their effectiveness. At the end of the three weeks, they will be taken down and moved on to the next neighbourhood.