Dog owners bite back at Yarra Council’s Edinburgh Gardens poo bag enforcement
Dog owners are biting back at Yarra Council for deploying “Gestapo tactics” targeting dog walkers at Fitzroy North’s Edinburgh Gardens, with the move described by one councillor as “blatant revenue raising”.
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Angry dog walkers at Edinburgh Gardens are biting back after Yarra Council deployed staff to conduct poo bag “stop and checks”.
Several irate dog owners contacted Leader after a Yarra local laws officer attended the off-leash dog area at the popular Fitzroy North park last Saturday.
It’s understood the officer, who we have chosen not to name, demanded dog owners prove they were carrying dog litter bags or cop a fine.
One walker said the officer said he was responding to complaints at the park.
The move shocked many dog owners who said there are a dozen or so dog litter bag dispensers scattered around the park, and very little dog poo.
Greg Spark – who walks his 14-year-old Australian Shepherd “Alfie” at the Gardens daily – said certain officers were behaving like “authoritarian Nazis”.
Mr Spark slammed the “Gestapo tactics” as an attack on dog owners.
“We’re paying our pet registrations to pay for people to harass dog owners,” he said.
Mr Spark said he and other dog owners would make an official complaint to the council.
“People are entitled to be out in a big park like Edinburgh Gardens where they can let their dogs run freely without having officers out pinging dog walkers at 7am in the morning while no one else is around,” he said.
Mr Spark suggested “cashed” up Yarra Council should spend their money on more dog bag dispensers, relocating the existing ones and investing in more dog water bowls.
Nicholls Ward councillor Bridgid O’Brien said she would seek “immediate answers” from council officers after she was approached by ratepayers and dog owners.
“I’ve been told staff have been skulking around the park, pouncing on dog owners, I think it might be an attempt to raise revenue as the council has lost it in other areas,” Cr O’Brien said.
“One resident said it seemed like ‘entrapment’ targeting dog owners.
“This should be an animal welfare issue, not a revenue raising exercise. We have to look after our pets.
“(The) council already raises plenty of money through pet registrations so we should be looking after owners.”
Ed, who did not want his surname published, was stopped while walking his Cavoodle Jaxie.
“It’s disappointing that in the current climate people are being stopped and checked while trying to enjoy some exercise and fresh air with their dogs,” he said.
“This is one of the cleanest parks, yes there is the occasional dog poo but not enough to warrant wasting council resources on a witch hunt … it’s a bit heavy-handed”
Regular park user Mark Feary and his partner Sangita Sandrasegar – who do not own a dog – said dog poo was a “non issue”.
“The good thing about most of the people is that they seem to diligently clean after their dogs,” Mr Feary said.
Yarra Council did not respond to claims dog poo was not an issue at Edinburgh Gardens.
Nor did the council comment on whether the practice of sending local law officers to stop and question dog owners was heavy-handed.
“While most people are respectful, we unfortunately still receive complaints about people not cleaning up after the pets and local law officers need to respond,” a council spokesman said.
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