Dog poo

Just lately there has been a huge drive to make sure that dog owners clean up their dog's mess by collecting the poo in a plastic bag. This is especially important as the roundworm Toxocara canis can be passed to humans causing symptoms such as blindness and problems with the gut. The eggs of Toxocara are extremely resistant to adverse environmental conditions, and, once an area is contaminated with Toxocara eggs (such as a playground, park, or your garden), its very difficult to sanitise the area.

You can be fined large amounts for not clearing up dog waste. However, I have noticed that many dog owners are collecting their dog's waste in a plastic bag but they are also discarding it in a bush or behind some feature in their park. This is bad for many reasons:

• The plastic bag takes years to fully degrade
• The plastic bag acts as a greenhouse, keeping the dog poo warm and moist - suitable conditions for Toxocara and many other harmful bugs
• Toxocara is very resilient, so has the ability to infect children in a park months after the faeces were first discarded
• Stacks of dog poo in plastic bags are an eyesore

So if you're a dog owner, please don't discard plastic bags full off dog poo around our parks and countryside.

caldini

Update: If you're offended by this unsightly practice, write a letter to your local newspaper. Let's try and make this as unsociable as possible!