We Might Dream Of Doing It

This lady did it!

Through the letter box!

How Bad Is This?

Multiply this by many thousands and the scale of the problem becomes clear!

Further Use of Flags - Isle of Arran

The Isle of Arran is a wonderful place, which I have visited on many occasions.

Sadly, the dog fouling menace has struck here also. The dog warden has to come over from the mainland and then has to catch dogs at it.

Flags have become the local weapon of choice.

Get your flag and then read about it here.

Keep Britain Tidy

They haven't gone away and have galvanised support from all over, resulting in over 6,000 red rubber bands being returned to Royal Mail.

My only criticism is that this could be the wrong tactic.

The "Royal" Mail must be owned by the Queen. Therefore, HM Government must be responsible, so surely we should be posting red rubber bands to the office of the Lord Chancellor?

Please let me know if you get a reply. In the meantime, see the article here.

Fighting For A Turd Free Toulouse

"C’est beaucoup trop!", said the Mairie de Toulouse, after it was reported that five tonnes of dog faeces are dropped on the streets, pavements & parks of Toulouse every day, of every week, of every year.

Five tonnes is, by any measure, a sizable quantity of turd.

Take a minute. Sit back. Visualise it. F-i-v-e t-o-n-n-e-s!

While the figure itself is unsurprising - France is filthy after all - I am more than curious to know who did the counting.

The Mairie has produced a great Wallace & Grommitesque "It's raining turds" video to promote the campaign to clean up Toulouse.

It started airing in French cinemas and on the France 3 Sud channel this week.

Dog fouling is truly a worldwide problem.

National Poop Scoop Week

For dog fouling campaigners, this years National Poop Scoop Week will be the culmination of 12 months hard work where we finally get the national press coverage and the public acknowledgement we deserve.

Put the dates in your diary (22nd - 28th June 2009) and start thinking how you can get involved and raise awareness. The Dogs Trust have a few suggestions to help promote the week, but I don't think they go far enough.

We need to think "out of the box" and look at more radical methods to raise awareness in the problems caused by dog fouling.

With that in mind, I was particularly pleased when I was Emailed by John Wood - Sherwood Forest Community Ranger about his idea.

John states, "I was getting fed up with standing in dog poo while out walking in the woods so I decided to find a way of warning others of the dangers ahead. That's when I came up with the idea to spray paint every dog faeces in the park with permanent fluorescent pink paint. Now I have an army of volunteers that go out every day to search for dog poo and spray it pink. I have seen a drop in the number of complaints from visitors standing in poo and made the woods a more colourful place."

Councillor Eddie Smith, Portfolio Holder for the Environment at Mansfield District Council commented,
"We are looking to expand on John's idea and have issued pink spray canisters to all council employees. We envisage our staff using the paint in a variety of different areas - traffic wardens will spray drivers windscreens to identify those illegally parked & road cleaners will spray chewing gum stuck on the pavements. We are currently in discussions with the police to allow them to spray those they have arrested to easily identify criminals to the community. The possibilities are endless."

Don't let National Poop Scoop Week 2009 go unnoticed - grab your pink spray and take a stand.

1,000 Tonnes in the UK Per Day

Many thanks to Purbeck District Council for this information and the fascinating insight into the problem explained here.

1,000 tonnes is phenomenal. Well one to the UK!

Think of all the animals.

I have tried so hard to raise public awareness of the dangers of red rubber bands. I have highlighted the risk they are to latex allergy sufferers, the litter problems they cause and the upset they are to local communities - but still I am mocked & ridiculed.

So now I appeal to the animal loving public of Britain when I say - "red rubber bands are a risk to our animals".

A recent article in the Canadian Museum of Nature web site first raised concerns at the problems red rubber bands were causing their indigenous wildlife.

"One unexpected detrimental factor to sturgeon survival is discarded red rubber bands used by Canada Post to bind mail. These are washed through storm sewers into the St. Lawrence River where they become threaded onto the pointed snouts of sturgeon. The rubber bands become embedded in the sturgeon's head, interfere with feeding and leave the fish open to infection. Sturgeon with red rubber bands weigh one-third less than normal."

Another very sad story told of the plight of a young duck that was left to choke to death after getting a red rubber band tangled around its neck.

I don't care if you ignore the Nazi Postman Pat, ignore the red rubber band collections, ignore the littering by our postmen, ignore the little old ladies who collect red rubber bands or ignore the suffering of the latex allergy sufferers - but I appeal to you, please do not ignore the suffering caused to the fish & the ducks.

Postman Pat is a Nazi

Recently unearthed in the research files of the late great Nazi Hunter, Simon Wiesenthal, is this 1943 photograph of Briefträger-Klaps aka Postman Pat during a Hitler Youth rally.

It was rumoured that Briefträger-Klaps was the driving force behind the introduction of red rubber bands to the German Post Office during the 1930's and that he was Hitler's No:1 advisor in all things elasticated during WW2.

Briefträger-Klaps experiments on Allied POW's with latex allergies using red rubber bands, is acknowledged by today's scientists as ground breaking research. Obviously these experiments are forbidden in todays civilized society.

Never far from his sidekick, Jess die Schwarzweiss-Katze aka Jess the black & white cat, the two of them disappeared after the war only to resurface in the 1990's, this time rebranded as a friendly duo - but still retaining their unhealthy interest in red rubber bands.

Simon Wiesenthal's dying wish was for Postman Pat & his red rubber bands to be brought to justice.

I hope that this blog goes some small way in doing just that.

Excuse me, could you pick that up please ?

I was walking up the high street with my wife the other day when suddenly she grabbed me by the arm and screamed, "Stop!"

Am I about to walk into a lamppost ?

Am I about to be run down by an out of control car ?

"No", she replied, pointing to an unfeasibly large, freshly laid dog faeces laying in wait. "Watch your feet". A narrow escape.

Is it just me, or are we British spending more and more time watching our feet ?

With over 1000 tonnes of excrement hitting the pavements every day, we need to become more attuned to the problem.

So would you ask someone to pick up their dogs mess ?

Most people just ignore it or turn the other way. We British are far too polite to say anything and often resort to giving the offender a "Paddington Bear Stare" to make sure they know they have met with our disapproval.

There are some horror stories where a polite request to, "please pick up your dog poo", has resulted in verbal abuse, injury and even death.

With that in mind I think I have found an item that not only allows you to pick up dog mess but also protects you should things turn nasty while walking your dog.

Once fitted with a plastic bag, the Swooper Scooper becomes an ingenious implement to quickly pick up and dispose of dog mess in one smooth motion - so far so good.

But should another dog walker start to kick off and object to the tone of your request to pick up his own dog poo - then the Swooper Scooper really comes into its own.

A quick press of a button and the plastic blades instantly retract, leaving you with a handy cosh that swings the odds of surviving that late night dog fouling fight firmly in your favour.

I've started taking mine out with me to the pub at the weekend to help hammer home my dog fouling views.

Dog Fouling v Red Rubber Bands, Which is the Greater Evil?

This is a question, which is clearly on the mind of Dickie Felton of Keep Britiain Tidy, who states:

'Elastic bands may not be as visually offensive as dog dirt or half-eaten pizza, but they are most definitely litter.'

Read the article here, then vote on this post.

North Wales Police - A Safer North Wales!

PC Perkins has hit the nail on the head! How can he make North Wales safer? Simple, tackle dog fouling! To quote him from the North Wales Police site:

“If we ignore this type of behaviour other people visiting may think no-one cares, but that’s not the message we want to promote. It takes two seconds to
scoop the poop and bin it. I do not accept we need further education of adults - it’s time for action.”

Let's see no more dog waste on the promenade!

Read the full story here.

Well Done Torbay Council!!!

A hard hitting campaign, depicting a child eating dog faeces.

Sadly, they have missed the opportunity to have a red rubber band in the faeces, thereby creating a greater hazard.

Read the full story here.

Don’t get radicalised, get even ...

I can sense that Peter is becoming frustrated at the lack of acknowledgement he is receiving from the British authorities that dog fouling is a real problem. He has resorted to more & more radical terrorist tactics to drive the message into the very homes he visits.

This sort of behaviour is not unusual when the cause is seen as just and right. To sacrifice an innocent homeowners beige coloured Allied Carpets pure wool carpet is a small price to pay to further the anti-dog fouling cause.

Peter is an angry man - and if anyone has ever stood in a dog faeces, then they have every right to be angry.

If we do nothing - then nothing will ever change. Who is going to provide us with the change we need ?

The answer is Habitat.

Advantages?

In the course of my daily life, I often have occasion to enter the business premises and homes of other people.

I am increasingly frustrated by the lack of willingness of other people to speak up against the menace of dog fouling. Therefore, I always do my best to plaster my shoes in dog faeces before entering any of these premises.

By doing this, I force people to take notice of the dangers of dog fouling as well as letting people know just what type of stomach churning stench results from this anti-social behaviour. I am sure I have brought many to the cause through this activity.

Additionally, it causes people to respect me a bit more than before. They invariably treat me with circumspection on the next visit.

I must confess that when visiting a family home, I was once unable to find any dog faeces, so I used that of a cat. Similar result, point made!

I admire his style ...

If only there were more kids like Calvin, the world would be a better place.

A balanced view ...

Our inbox has been full of messages of support from around the world on our campaign to rid our streets of the elasticated red devil.

But it is only right that I include some views of those who see the rubber bands as their friends and positively encourage their existence.

*****

Colin Boocock - Derby, UK writes, "SIR – I must protest at your move to ban postmen from dropping red rubber bands in the street. I find this a valuable free source of quality bands.
They are far better than those bought in stationers’ shops – strong, flexible and long-lasting. Long may they continue to be harvested."

*****

Stephen Appleby - Kendal, Cumbria, UK states, "SIR – I collect and use red rubber bands to bundle junk mail, which I repost to avoid a fine for overloading my wheelie bin. "

*****

While Miss Primrose Peacock - Truro, Cornwall, UK pleads, "SIR – The red rubber bands are not just useful office supplies: they have also been included in medical aid kits to Albania.
Please, Royal Mail, ignore busybody suggestions made by The Dog Fouling & Red Rubber Band Blog Team."

*****

We are nothing, if not balanced in our views & encourage other rubber band sympathisers to leave their comments.

Please remember to include your full name, address & postcode so we can send you our information leaflet - "Red Rubber Bands - Friend or Foe?"

It Gets Worse Every Day!

This matter is well reported on here: Postmen fined for dropping red rubber bands

I have attempted to post in the Blog. They need to know that they are not alone.

He's still at it ...

Is there no one that can stop this fiend ?

He is laughing at us all and there is nothing we can do about it. What good is the threat of a £50 fine for littering to Postman Pat ?

Red rubber bands lie strewn around our streets and still nothing is done about Postman Pat and his black & white, red rubber band littering cat!

Band together ...

I was beginning to become disillusioned with the whole anti red rubber band campaign thing. The Royal Mail were refusing to answer my letters & the comments on the blog were becoming just plain silly.

Then I was contacted by Gersh Kuntzman - a reporter from The Brooklyn Paper. He pointed me in the direction of his campaign to rid the streets of New York of rubber bands.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/33/30_33rubberband.html

Ok - they aren't red rubber bands - the American Post Office uses grey rubber bands - but the principle is the same.

In the words of Gersh Kuntzman, "The invasion of the rubber bands continues unabated ..."

Well not in the UK it doesn't Gersh baby - unite with us and together our two great super powers can rid this planet of the scourge of the rubber band.

Mayor Steve ...

Steve Bullock is the Mayor of the London Borough of Lewisham and is a veteran campaigner against red rubber bands being dropped in his borough.

A quick Google check also reveals that Steve has a particular dislike for dog fouling in his borough as well.

At last we have a local politician ready to stand up and take action on the subjects the people want dealt with.

I'm sure he would welcome your words of support on these subjects. http://www.mayorsteve.co.uk/

Imagine what Steve could do for the Dog Fouling & Red Rubber Bands campaign if we voted him in as Mayor of London.

Eat shit and die ...

This advert isn't trying to tell you that dog fouling is bad. It just uses the subject of dog fouling to make the wider audience sit up & listen to the messages of the sponsor - in this case a mortgage firm - and to raise a smile :-)

Enjoy ...

Incidently, aren't mortgage bankers shits ?

Very Direct Sign

They don't get more direct than this! This one really says "put a cork up your dog". Any such action would, however, be totally wrong. Therefore, all producers of such signs should be prosecuted for attempted cruelty.

Israel Leads the Way!!

DNA has been used to trap serious criminals. Now, it could become the tool needed to detect offences of dog fouling.

In the attached link, there is even a video of how faeces are collected for analysis.

At least it obviates the need to post it to a selected target.

Click here for a full account!