Dog owners allowing their pets to foul in public areas are a “disgrace”, according to city councillor Terry O’Flaherty who is calling on the Galway City Council to erect signs, particularly at beaches and parks.
Due to the number of daily complaints in relation to dog fouling, the Independent councillor tabled a motion at Monday’s council meeting calling for the signs advising dog owners of their responsibilities in respect of dog control and fouling to be erected without delay.
Cllr O’Flaherty criticised dog owners saying that fouling was “completely out of control” making it “virtually impossible to walk on the footpaths in estates, parks, and on the city beaches” .
She said dog owners had no regard for wheelchair users, people pushing buggies, and for those who enjoy walking.
“There is so much dog litter left strewn around that it is virtually impossible to avoid walking on it or it getting on your shoes, the wheels of buggies and wheelchairs,” said Cllr O’Flaherty, who noted that despite the environment department undertaking a number of measures the “lack of enforcement has allowed the dog fouling to escalate and action needs to be taken to curb this before it gets completely out of control”.
Cllr O’Flaherty called on the city council to take action in raising awareness when it comes to signage, enforcement, and bins to dispose of the dog litter. She is also appealing to dog owners to clean up the mess left behind instead of leaving it for others to do.
