OSWESTRY Town Council has declared war on dog fouling, according to its new mayor.

The authority says it has noticed an increase in dog fouling in the town’s streets and open spaces and to tackle this, they are asking Oswestry residents to report any incidents that they see.

Councillor Olly Rose, who was last week installed as the new Oswestry mayor, said the launch of reporting portals can help reward ‘good’ dog owners who clean up after their pets.

“While most dog owners are responsible and clean up after their dogs, sadly there are others that don’t,” said the mayor.

“Dog poo poses substantial health risks to humans – particularly young children and also to animals including livestock.

“Reports of dog poo can be made in a number of ways.

“Residents can report this to Shropshire Council on their website https://tinyurl.com/oswestrydogpoo

“Alternatively, download the free ‘Pooper Snooper’ smartphone app and you can easily log poo and locations of bins, and add any notes that you think are important.”

A council spokesman added: “The idea behind the app is to enable residents to monitor the areas they visit and care about.

“The data will visibly demonstrate problem areas and allow residents to get more targeted material to tackle the problem.

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“Any incidents that are cleaned up can be marked as resolved, and bin locations can be recorded within the app, with a ‘find nearest bin’ function helping to locate bins in unfamiliar walking areas.

“Dog waste is a significant problem in the UK and globally. There are approximately 8.5 million dogs in the UK alone and 25 per cent of all UK households own a dog.

“With each dog needing to defecate up to five times every day, that could mean a staggering 42.5 million dog poops per day.”

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Cllr Rose added: “It is important to keep our streets clean and safe and the issue of dog fouling is often raised with councillors.

The aim is to encourage residents to report any poo that has not been cleaned up and ask individuals, community groups, schools and business to take collective responsibility for helping to keep the streets clean and tidy.

“A dog poo-free environment may seem like a fantasy, but it shouldn’t be that way.

“Oswestry Town Council will be looking to utilise this data over a three-month period to identify any hotspots and help find solutions in a targeted approach, so we are keen to get all residents involved.”