Dugshots: Glasgow's War On Terriers, Enforcement spotlight turns on canine offenders Options

[GG]

City bosses have been getting hot under the collar after their latest attempt to clean our streets was branded "farcical". Bosses want the city's housing officers to keep a photographic record of all tenants' dogs, together with pet's name, age, breed, colour, sex and a written description of each animal.

The 'dugshot' (dog mugshot) policy, adopted by Drumchapel Housing Cooperative and encouraged by the council, is intended to allow enforcement officers to identify dogs who foul on the city's streets. The officers have often complained that dog walkers frequently use hats and scarves to disguise themselves, making it difficult to identify them and trace them back to a housing association's property.

Attention now, though, is turning to the dogs themselves, and council bosses hope a doggie photo database will allow Clean Glasgow staff to check photographs of dogs against CCTV stills to help identify irresponsible owners. Offending dog owners will face a fine and possibly risk losing their homes in the crackdown.

A council executive spokesman said:

"[Photographic] animal registers are another weapon in the battle to change people’s habits and force them to act responsibly."

Nick Pickles, a civil liberties activist, branded the plans over-the-top:

"While it may seem farcical, the serious implications of this kind of surveillance cannot be understated. It is a grossly disproportionate response to the issue to adopt the kind of surveillance not seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall to tackle dog fouling.

It's hardly surprising that between managing these databases of pet mugshots and hiding in hedges taking surveillance photographs the council struggle to find the time to clean the streets."

Since the beginning of August, 109 £40 fixed penalty notices have been issued in the city for dog fouling as part of action designed to reduce the 10 tons of dog mess the council clears every day.

GG.

[angel]

A better chance of getting the 40pounds fine from the dogs .!

[Rabbie]

Wit next dug prints, biometric dugports and DNA samples

Its sad to think that some scat brained eegits get paid a wage to come up with keech like this.

[jakka13]

Who wid want the job of collectimg the DNA from wee dugs dain ther business .Better gettin mug shots of the owners who don't pick it up .Mer chance o'gettin money from them than the dug .

[Alex MacPhee]

The officers have often complained that dog walkers frequently use hats and scarves to disguise themselves, making it difficult to identify them and trace them back to a housing association's property.

It presumably hasn't dawned on them that a dog-walker who uses a hat and scarf to mask his identity while roaming the roads with Rover, will be savvy enough to put a hat and scarf on the dug too, and keep them both incognito while pooch paces the pavements for a place to pee and poo.

[campsie]

City bosses have been getting hot under the collar after their latest attempt to clean the city was branded "farcical". Bosses want the city's housing officers to keep a photographic record of all tenants' dogs, together with pet's name, age, breed, colour, sex and a written description of each animal. ...

As a dog owner I really cannot understand those dog owners who let their dogs foul the pavements and don't pick it up. I wonder how quick those self same people would be if a toddler in their family were to fall over in the pavement and loose their sight from a parasitic infection left behind from a dogs shit. They would be squealing blue murder no doubt. THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES. As for those who want to spout about civil liberties and the such, GROW UP and get some common sense. Dog owners like these should be shamed into cleaning up their act why should clean innocent people have to put up with this filth.

[The Callands Reb...]

Yes, this Colonist has a word on this, too.

I have pondered for years, now, who has the market share of idiotic government leadership.

Sorry, but as we Colonists sprung from the Isles, the UK wins the DoDo award for government leadership, DID I SAY LEADERSHIP from either?

But we probaly corner the market on paying these fools.

If you serve just one term you are afforded a pension FOR LIFE to the tune of 80,000 pounds and the higher in politics you go, the higher the
pension , AGAIN, FOR LIFE.

Jerry

[campsie]

I appreciate where you are coming from Jerry, but fools they might be stupid they are not, not when they are inline for £80,000, think I might become one of those fools.

[*one time weegie*]

So its only tenants dogs that foul the streets now is it? I can't see many truly anti-social owners letting a housing officer ID their dog in the first place and some of the hounds I have seen I wouldnt want to without a very long lens anyway! What do the housing Dept Staff have to say about this one?

[daddymuzza]

10 tons of dog mess the council clears every DAY ......... My Dugs Arse !!!!!
Where does the ten tons of dog mess go each day ? where is yesterdays ? or last weeks 70 ton for that matter.
Is it always dumped (lol) by the council in the same place cause i'm sure we wouldn't need a sniffer dog to find it.
Or do they have some kind of muck spredder to ease the burden.

[youngsy]

Surely this is a wind up. Please tell me that this is a joke because if there are people getting paid to come up with these sort of suggestions then please someone step in and show the people of Drumchapel the idiots that are making decisions on their behalf.

Now personally I don't like dogs, never have since two bit me as a young lad, but as for fouling the srteets this is down to irresponsible people who should have a lot more consideration for the public.

I can understand the need to take action on people whose dogs foul the street but a photo database on dogs, who's kidding who. Perhaps a designated dog patrol, maybe on similar lines to what the police had in the sixties/seventies, the untouchables,whose sworn duty would be to hunt down and handcuff, or maybe pawcuff is a better word, these dogs that have flouted the law of the canine world.

[beth]

Youngsy, that is what I thought, a kid on, it is surely?

[zascot]

What goes " Woof Woof Bang"? A terrierist.

[cocotkd]

Another waste of taxpayers money. If it wasn't for dog poo half of us will have no luck!

[Austinstaff]

What about a dug Bar-L ? We could have dug courts and lawyers defending innocent dugs ! I know ; a dug identity parade ! Wa this the dug you saw sir ? Lol dug police ? Dug parole board and rehabiitation too ! Brilliant lol. The list is endless. I am up for it . There are a lot of dangerous dugs oot there ; let's be careful.