'˜Paint means poo' campaign cuts dog fouling in Daventry district

DDC Community Projects Officer Sally Johnson with Karen Tweedale (Secretary) and Kate Campbell (Chairman) of Middlemore Residents Association kicked off the campaign last September.

Daventry District Council’s (DDC) ‘Paint Means Poo’ scheme saw volunteers go out into their communities armed with brightly coloured spray paint.

Their job was to visit dog fouling hotspots over a six-week period, spraying any poos they found and recording the results.

A total of 24 parishes took part, together with volunteers from Middlemore, Southbrook, the Grange and Borough Hill in Daventry.

And their combined effort paid off. In week one, volunteers recorded a total of 343 incidents of dog fouling. By week six, an inspection of the same areas found just 157 incidents – a reduction of more than 54 per cent.

While the campaign did not have the desired effect in every area it was carried out, there were notable successes in a range of other places including Naseby, Crick and Middlemore.

The campaign, which ran during September and October, revisited the paint spraying scheme first launched by DDC in 2013.

It was supported by poster and leaflet campaigns, and help also came from The Canal & River Trust and Pets At Home in Daventry, who ran a free poo bag giveaway.

Councillor Mike Warren, health and housing portfolio holder at Daventry District Council said: “These are very pleasing results and we would like to thank all of the volunteers and others who supported us, without whom this would not have been possible.

“The aim of the Paint Means Poo campaign was to enable communities to highlight the extent of the dog fouling problem in a particular area and to embarrass irresponsible dog owners into picking up after their pets. While not all of the areas surveyed saw a reduction in dog fouling, the overall picture shows that this can be an effective deterrent.

“Our next task is to look at the areas where this initiative was not so effective and identify any additional action that can be taken. The campaign also identified a number of dog fouling hotspots, and we will be targeting these areas for enforcement in the coming months.”

For more information and the full report on the campaign, visit www.daventrydc.gov.uk/dogfouling.