Mitchelton homeowner fed up with lazy owners not removing dog poo

A BRISBANE resident has become so infuriated with her lawn being used as a doggie dunny, she’s posted a sign demanding owners clean-up after their pets.

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A BRISBANE resident has become so infuriated with her lawn being used as a doggie dunny, she’s posted a sign demanding owners clean-up after their pets.

Jane Gage said the amount of dog poo on the nature strip of her Mitchelton home had become a joke and she wants Brisbane City Council to start policing the streets.

When The Courier-Mail visited Ms Gage on Tuesday morning there were at least five large piles of dog poo across the lawn.

Several had a stake driven into the ground next to them, with a plastic bag attached.

Ms Gage had offered the bags in the hopes that the next owner whose dog takes a dump would use it to collect the poo.

“The sign has been out for a week and I have put out signs before,” Ms Gage said.

“It’s not so much out of frustration, it just gives Brisbane such a bad name.

“Brisbane is shocking for dog poo at off-leashes … they’re just feral.”

Failing to pick up and dispose of dog dropping carries a $252 fine under BCC regulations.

Not carrying sufficient bags or containers to collect droppings will set you back $63 and that includes not having a spare container or bag, even after your dog has done its business and you have disposed of it correctly.

Jane Gage is sick of local dog owners letting their pets use her front yard as a toilet.

There are about 100,000 registered pooches and 120 dog parks in Brisbane and yet the chances of being booked for failing to collect dog droppings are extremely slim.

In the last financial year, the BCC handed out just three fines to pet owners failing to pick-up droppings while no fines were issued for anyone failing to carry sufficient bags or containers.

“Cleaning up after pets in public places, and disposing of excrement, is an essential part of responsible pet ownership,” a BCC spokeswoman said.

“In the first instance, Council will always seek to educate pet owners about their responsibilities. Council is unable to issue fines unless officers witness dog owners failing to dispose of their pet’s droppings.

Last financial year, Council issued three fines to individuals for failing to immediately remove and dispose of dog excrement in a public place. No fines were issued for failing to carry a suitable bag or container to dispose of animal excrement.”

Failing to pick up and dispose of dog dropping carries a $252 fine under BCC regulations.

Ms Gage said the attitude of pet owners needed to change.

She said Australians were lackadaisical when it came to cleaning up after pets compared to pet owners in Europe.

“We just don’t have the same attitude as the people who live overseas who pick up their dog poo,” she said.

“In places like England and all over Europe, where it’s built up and people are living in apartments, they pick up dog poo.”

Ms Gage hoped the sign educated locals who walked their dog along her street and along a local creek bed and they used the bags.

“I think the bags make them a bit aware or they take their dog further up the road where I can’t see,” she said.

If anything I hope this educates them. A few people have laughed and others have been dismissive of it.”