‘Get a cat or a goldfish if you won’t pick up after your dog’, says East Cambs councillor as fine rises to £100

Get a cat or a goldfish if you are not prepared to pick up your dog’s poo, a councillor has told residents.

The comments were made as East Cambridgeshire District Council agreed to fine people £100 if they are caught not clearing up after their dog.

Cllr Julia Huffer (Con, Fordham and Isleham) said people leaving dog waste behind was a serious issue and said one councillor had lost sight in one eye as a child because of dog faeces.

The authority introduced a district-wide Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in 2018, which required people to pick up after their dogs and to “appropriately take away or dispose of the waste”.

Anyone caught not doing so could be issued with a fine, previously set at £80, but now due to be increased to £100.

Council officers told the operational services committee meeting on 18 November that it was a “challenge” to enforce the order.

They said not many people were willing or able to provide a witness statement when they saw someone failing to pick up after their dog, and in some other cases they said they were not able to identify the pet owner.

There were 54 reports in 2023-24 of dog waste seen on the ground and seven reports of dog fouling, which the officer led to a community protection warning and three warning letters being sent out.

Councillors voiced support for extending the PSPO for another three years.

Cllr Huffer said: “I do not understand why people get a dog if they are not prepared to pick up after it. Get a cat, get a goldfish, get a stuffed dog - do not get a real one and take it out and allow it to foul anywhere.”

Cllr Huffer stressed that leaving dog waste around was a serious issue and said another councillor had lost sight in one of their eyes as a child due to dog faeces.

“That is how serious it can be - it can be life changing,” she said.