DOG poo is being dumped on the streets of Kirklees at the rate of six tonnes EVERY DAY.
And irresponsible dog owners who refuse to clean up after the pets are providing terrible problems for Kirklees Council staff.
Now the messy problem of dog fouling is to be the subject of a special public meeting.
And the public has been urged to come up with ideas to tackle the stinking mess.
The Kirklees Overview and Scrutiny Panel for the Environment will debate the problems at 10am on December 22 at Huddersfield Town Hall.
Council officials estimate there are about 40,000 dogs in Kirklees producing over six tonnes of faeces every day.
Some owners are responsible and clean up after their dogs. But Richard Forster, the man in charge of the council's four-strong dog warden service, admitted: "There are far too many who are irresponsible and do nothing about it."
The panel is seeking public opinion issues such as:
Where are the 'dog grot spots' in Kirklees?
What should the council be doing about it?
The panel will hear information from a variety of sources on the subject including measures taken by other local authorities to combat the problem. It will decide whether to make any recommendations to the Cabinet.
The public is encouraged to send views in writing to the Overview and Scrutiny Office and people are welcome to attend the panel meeting.
The panel's Lead Member Clr Nigel Patrick said: "Dog fouling is one of the most common complaints received by the council.
"It is the scrutiny panel's intention to carry out a thorough investigation to see if more can be done by the council to control the problem. I welcome input from members of the public from all sides of the argument."
The other panel members are Clr Jim Dodds, Clr Naz Hussain, Clr Mehboob Khan, Fred Lewis, Clr Andrew Marchington, Ute Pfeifer, and Clr Mohammed Sarwar.
Mr Forster said: "About 30% of the calls we get are about dog fouling, on pavements and on playing fields.
"There are not many stray dogs in Kirklees so part of the problem are the owners to do not clean up after the pets.
"There are gripes, and rightly so, about the provision of dog bins to deal with the waste and that is one issue the panel will be examining.
"But dog fouling is certainly a major problem".
For more information, contact John Heneghan at the Overview and Scrutiny Office on 01484 221687. Email john.heneghan@kirklees.gov.uk or write to the Overview and Scrutiny Office, Huddersfield Town Hall, Ramsden Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2TA. Comments should arrive no later than Friday.
