Hatfield Church

Dog Fouling Problem in Church Yard

Oct 3rd, 2009

Over several months some dog owners have been walking their dogs through the church yard and allowing them to foul on the grass and footpaths and leaving it there for somebody else to clear it up.

Dog fouling is a major concern to many people, not just because of the mess it causes, but because it can be a health risk.

Dogs may deposit roundworm eggs (toxocara canis) in their faeces, which become infectious after about three weeks, and can remain so for up to two years. Anyone, but particularly children playing near to the church, can run the risk of picking up and swallowing the eggs. The eggs then hatch in the intestine, burrow through the intestine wall into the blood stream and pass into the body.

Possible symptoms of toxocaral infection range from aches, dizziness, blindness and nausea to asthma and pneumonia, but as these symptoms can all be caused by other things, infections often go undiagnosed. In the UK there are around 100 cases of toxocariasis diagnosed each year.

Children from the local schools regularly use the church footpath.

At a recent Church Council meeting one of our grass cutters wrote to see if we could do something about the continual, unpleasant mess which clogs up mowers and sticks to shoes.

Signs were put up around the church, most of which were either uprooted or destroyed within a matter of days. One sign had little effect as someone had let their dog foul right next to the sign!

Please, "Bag it ... Bin it ... Simple!" is the message to all dog owners who let their dog foul and fail to pick it up.

Please help us to keep Hatfield church yard a safe and pleasant place for all.

Jonathan Newton

Church Warden