New Countryside Code

[Erbswurst]

Although I have no dog, I take these bags where I can get them for free, all in one rush of course.

I put a bit earth into them and throw them here and there over fences into private gardens, just to shorten the time until they get interdicted.



Seriously:
Does anyone know if that's biodegradable plastic?

 

[C_Claycomb]

I am not usually in favour of smear campaigns, but I think it would be appropriate punishment for people decorating bushes with poly bagged doggie logs!

 

[TLM]

Does anyone know if that's biodegradable plastic?

Here some are, I think mostly not.

 

[Woody girl]

You can get degradable doggie poo bags but I think that just encourages people to leave them in situ as they believe the whole package will degrade naturally.
Our town has stopped supplying free doggie bags as people just nick the lot and the free bag dispensers are always empty.
You can get neoprene pouches from pet shops that you clip on your belt to carry the offending article untill you get to a disposal point, and wash out afterwards but I never see anyone with them. Ideal solution realy. Put your bagged doo doo into the pouch and you don't have to carry a smelly plastic bag that splits and covers you in unmentionable goo in your hands.

 

[Allans865]

There should be more visible patrols in our countryside areas dishing out fines for littering and other offences, now that the majority of the population will be spending their time within our borders for the foreseeable future.

This would be a good deterrent against countryside public order offences, and also provide employment for the population of local areas.

Being from Scotland, I can see a country wide wildcamping ban on the cards by the end of the year going by the state of some of the areas I have witnessed while out wildcamping...abandoned cheap supermarket tents, seas of empty beer cans and bottles, fire scars everywhere, piles of human excrement everywhere...the list goes on.

You just need to look at the camping ban on the east shore of Loch Lomond to see the photos of the reasons why they decided to ban camping there. I see this happening for the whole of Scotland if we're not careful....and it's the same old situation...a minority of small minded twits ruining it for the people who genuinely enjoy getting out there and loving the outdoors, and most of all...leaving no trace.



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[Woody girl]

I think when we, as responsible people who go out into the countryside, .. this year particularly,... we need to go out prepared to deal with as much rubbish as we can.
Its all very well complaining to each other and local councils, but that will just predispose them to make more rules and those of us who enjoy the countryside responsibly will find our freedoms curtailed to a massive degree.
After all there are some trying to clean plastic out of the sea,... and that is a much more difficult and thankless task!
I know its not fair, but if we lead by example, and talk to those we see transgressing even in small ways, we can do a great deal to stop this getting stupid.
We won't stop everything, and it seems a pretty pointless and thankless task, but we all need to do everything we can.
I regularly talk to strangers and thank them for picking up their dog mess, and have a little friendly word about how disgusting some people can be, and how they abuse the facilities put in place for them.
There may be some that you don't wish to approach, such as a bunch of drunks, but a quick photo taken surreptitiously and a report to the police would be of use to stop this sort of thing, especially if they have a fire or bbq going.
Maybe its not nice to stop their fun ,but if their behaviour is against the code, or dangerous or, dogs off leads in lamb fields for instance we need to deal with it, and not walk away leaving the situation to get out of hand.
I know many of us do that, but perhaps we should redouble our efforts this summer, after all, its for everyone's benefit in the long run.

 

[slowworm]

There should be more visible patrols in our countryside areas dishing out fines for littering and other offences, now that the majority of the population will be spending their time within our borders for the foreseeable future.

Do we have any patrols? When I stopped a couple of dogs attacking a flock of sheep the police didn't come out. Even though I gave a witness statement and sent photo evidence the case against the owner was dropped. I'm not sure about patrols but it would be good if rural crime was taken seriously.

I've raised a few things with our local councils about problems around here, an AONB. The general response from everyone including senior managers is the country doesn't matter, it's just something that gets in the way and can be damaged, dumped in and generally used and abused.

It's interesting to see the comments about littering as our local councils are one of the worst littering culprits!

Sorry for a bit of a rant but I find these days anyone with a true concern for the countryside is in a very small minority.

 

[Allans865]

Do we have any patrols? When I stopped a couple of dogs attacking a flock of sheep the police didn't come out. Even though I gave a witness statement and sent photo evidence the case against the owner was dropped. I'm not sure about patrols but it would be good if rural crime was taken seriously.

I've raised a few things with our local councils about problems around here, an AONB. The general response from everyone including senior managers is the country doesn't matter, it's just something that gets in the way and can be damaged, dumped in and generally used and abused.

It's interesting to see the comments about littering as our local councils are one of the worst littering culprits!

Sorry for a bit of a rant but I find these days anyone with a true concern for the countryside is in a very small minority.

Yeah we have ranger services, but only on the national parks or forest parks normally, but they are so thin on the ground that you hardly ever see them.

I know that in Scotland farmers have authorisation to shoot dogs who attack their animals, and quite rightly so. I do long distance hiking of Scotland's great trails, and regularly see signs stating that dogs not on leads will be shot on site when cutting through fields and land.

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[Robson Valley]

April 22. McBride Clean-Up day. Trash bags provided. Everything cigarette butt size and bigger gets picked up. We lead by example.

 

[Oliver G]

Fines are all well and good providing you could actually get police support to carry out the fines but they're spread thin in urban areas as it is. The rangers are there to manage the area and, given the threats I've seen to water bailiffs, I wouldn't want my wife to be asked to fine people.

 

[Paul_B]

Most dog poo bags tend to be left near popular lakes carparks in the countryside IME. Often left because bins have been removed because council have cut costs and can't empty them anymore.

There's a lot of dog hate going on here. A nation of animal lovers my kiester (sic). Highly selective animal love methinks.

Dogs don't belong in the country? There's loads of reasons dogs have to be there. Sheep dogs, SARDA dogs, hunting dogs, etc. Then there's the simple fact dogs are part of the family so perhaps humans shouldn't be in the country neither! Unless you live or work there. That would surely solve the need for a dumbed down country code which shouldn't be needed if people had common sense.

Sorry to be so aggressive here. It's because people are confusing the minority with the majority here. Both in those causing harm as humans and those with dogs causing the dog poo problem. Also very minor compared to the number actually not presenting a problem.

Can we not confuse minority bad behaviour with the majority good behaviour. If not then can we ban wildcamping because they leave a mess with their beer cans and BBQs, broken tents, etc. That's what all wildcampers are like I've seen them around Loch lomond and other areas too.

Works both ways ppl!

 

[C_Claycomb]

Mod hat on.
Folks, control your language. No swearing. No getting around the swear filters with creative character use. Have edited swearing out of Paul and Allan's posts. If you gotta express these things, that is what this little chap is for.... ....

Paul, I think you mis-read what others have written and reacted in haste and a little too much passion.

 

[Woody girl]

I don't think anyone is saying dogs don't belong in the countryside.
The problem is the proliferation of lockdown puppies, badly trained if at all, inexperienced dog owners who themselves are just learning their pets behaviour and are not on top of how their dog behaves, and either can't be bothered or find dealing with their pets excreta unpleasant so don't bother picking up.
Then you get the urban owners who bring their dogs for a walk in a unfamiliar place, let it off the lead for some freedom, and the thing either dissappears into the undergrowth getting lost and eventusly chasing sheep or thinking because its not a street not picking up is OK.
Where I live this happens a lot!
I have also a worry about particularly ytube videos showing wild camping .
Particularly when you see them lighting fires and showing six cans of high strength beer they have brought with them. Get three pals doing that, and 18 cans left for someone else to clear up, and a fire scar, or possible moorland fire.
Defiantly the message on any countryside trip should be,

pack it in.. pack it out.
No fires,
and ban foil bbqs!.

Of course what you do on your own property is up to you, have a fire, drink beer, get drunk, pee in the hedge, and let your dog poo all over the lawn if you want, and leave the mess for someone else to clear up.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

There's a lot of dog hate going on here. A nation of animal lovers my kiester (sic). Highly selective animal love methinks.

Seems to me the anger is directed at irresponsible dog owners rather that at the dogs themselves.

 

[Erbswurst]

We have in Germany and Austria a pretty different sight. Here we invest massivly into the touristic infrastructure in the country.
Everywhere are benches, marked hiking ways of different length, often just circles around a smaller town or larger village, declared mountain bike ways, riding ways, barbeque cottages and dust bins of course.

Compared to the amount of money the "townies" leave in the villages, all that is relatively cheap done.
The money that was earned in the towns gets spend in the flat country, it helps the shops to survive, creates jobs in bad & breakfast accommodations, that often helps smaller farmers too and keeps things like the public swimming pool, a local camping ground, the bus line or railway station or whatever alive.

The tourists make the flat country a nicer place to live in. And usually that's just week end tourism or people who come just for a week.

But yes, if there is a street along a lake or river, there is a parking ground, are a few benches - just built in place with the chain saw - and a few dust bins.

And if we check in an accomodation we find always approximately 1 € tax per day that help to finance all that.

After the reunification we got an army of unemployed people who did such things everywhere in eastern Germay.
The people who would have gotten the money from the social service anyway, were organised to put thousands of benches onto the flat country, to mark hiking pathes and do other sensible things like that.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Sorry to be so aggressive here. It's because people are confusing the minority with the majority here. Both in those causing harm as humans and those with dogs causing the dog poo problem. Also very minor compared to the number actually not presenting a problem.

It's a fact of life that the things that go wrong get more publicity than the those things that go right.

 

[Woody girl]

Seems to me the anger is directed at irresponsible dog owners rather that at the dogs themselves.

Absolutely!
I picked up three lots of abandoned doggie doo yesterday alone on the public footpath from the housing into town. It leads to a car park where locals and visitors alike park, they see the path and think they will let their poor poochiekins out to relieve themselves after the long journey, and it has become a dog toilet that locals have to wade through to get to the shops.
I have often seen a deposit right under or within feet of the council provided disposal bins !
Its my pet gripe as you may have gathered.
I have also cleared up two lockdown wild camps and restored the fire scars.
Our council have proposed to ban any overnight camping anywhere because of this, so even a bivvy down by the river overnight will become illegal now.
Its creeping up on us folks, keep an eye on local council meeting minutes, and if you see proposals to ban camping, you will see how our freedoms are quietly being eroded.

 

[Oliver G]

I am glad to see the priorities for walkers, cyclists, and horses laid out nicely in the new code. I know there can be friction between the users but I have to say the cyclists where I walk are great, they call out at the top of the hill and thank you if the see you bringing your dog to heel.

 

[slowworm]

Sorry to be so aggressive here. It's because people are confusing the minority with the majority here. Both in those causing harm as humans and those with dogs causing the dog poo problem. Also very minor compared to the number actually not presenting a problem.

I'm not. I'm a dog owner and I enjoy seeing dogs go down our country lane. However, I think most dog owners do not pick up after their dog in the country or keep them under proper control (basically it should be on a lead most of the time).

I don't see the relevance of dog waste bins, pick up the dog mess in a bag and take it home if there's not a bin - simple. If you're worried about the bag splitting, double bag and when you get back just throw the inner bag out. Or pop an old sealable container in the car before you go out.

Also remember not everyone likes dogs, so although I'm quite happy for a couple of boistous labs to jump up with their muddy paws there are some people who either don't like dogs or have a genuine fear of them.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

There is a lot of countryside in the UK......the problem appears to be that too many people congregate in the same few places. Probably those that are less than 500 meters/yards from a car park.