Primary school children in Ramsgate are sign posting the way on dog fouling, after winning a competition to design new signs to encourage people to pick after their dogs.
Dog fouling was identified by PACT panels (Partners and Communities Together) in the Central Harbour, Eastcliff and Newington areas of Ramsgate as a priority for them.
As a result, community wardens and council officers from Thanet District Council and PCSOs from Kent Police visited Newington Primary School, Priory Infants School and St. Ethelbert's Catholic Primary School to talk to pupils about responsible dog ownership. An interactive game was used to show children how to pick up after their dogs and use dog bins correctly.
The children were also asked to design new signs, with messages about dog fouling, with the winning signs going on display in parks and open areas in Ramsgate. In total, six different designs have been used, with two winners from each school. The posters highlight the dangers of diseases in dog mess that can cause blindness, especially in young children and also remind people that anyone who fails to pick up after their dog could receive an £80 Fixed Penalty Notice.
Cllr. Shirley Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, said: "Dog fouling is something that local people have told us they want action taken on and that's exactly what we're doing. We've already got zero tolerance on anyone who fails to pick up after their dog, but as well as enforcement, we also need to be educating people. One way of doing that is by getting into schools and getting the message across at an early age. Hopefully these striking posters designed by the children will also help to get the message across to the small irresponsible minority of dog owners who fail to clean up after their dogs."
The winners were Eloise Sheppard (11) and Abigail Wilson (11) from Newington Community Primary School, Oliver Vaughan (6) and Oliver Benjamin (10) from St. Ethelbert's Catholic Primary School and Iona Wheeler (7) and Molly Quittenden (7) from Priory Infants School.
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