Don't punish decent dog lovers

Regarding the article, traders want action to be taken on mess, October 29.

I continue to be appalled and disgusted by the inconsiderate and ignorant dog owners who continue to allow their dogs to foul public areas, giving responsible dog owners such as myself a bad name.

As spokesman for the recent Right to Run campaign, which objected to proposals for new legislation requiring dogs to be kept on leads in the Quarry, it is beyond my comprehension that a dog owner could allow their dog to foul on a public street and simply walk away.

I would be further concerned that the type of person who would do this, is not regularly administering worm control to their pet, making the health risk even greater.

While the campaign is in support of the tidying up of current legislation regarding the control of dogs, there are already laws in place regarding dog control and fouling and these are clearly not being enforced, therefore we suspect the new legislation will have little or no effect.

We feel that communities and councils need to start working together to weed out the ignorant dog owners by ensuring that laws are enforced and offenders prosecuted, it is not enough to simply keep introducing new legislation which is then not enforced.

We would also suggest that a compulsory dog licensing scheme in conjunction with a microchip would help promote responsible ownership and make laws more easily enforceable.

I would encourage the council to contact me if they feel I can assist them.

Emma Suter, Shrewsbury