DOG owners who fail to pick up their pet’s poo could have their bank accounts frozen.
Dundee City Council is discussing the Draconian step with legal chiefs because many offenders simply refuse to pay the £80 fines.
The plan is to freeze the bank accounts of offenders in a legal move known as arrestment which can only be reversed once the fine is paid.
Fines for dog fouling in the city were recently doubled in a bid to crackdown on the problem but 60% remain unpaid.
Councillor Fraser MacPherson said: “Since receiving these figures, I am advised that just one of the outstanding 2015 fixed penalties has since been paid and so I have been in discussion with the city council about additional ways of ensuring that all fixed penalties are paid, and paid promptly.
“Recovery via bank arrestment is an obvious route to consider where a fixed penalty is ignored, and the increase in the amount of the fixed penalty to £80 not only acts as a better deterrent against dog fouling but also gives local authorities more option to ensure full recovery of penalties raised.
“Constituents rightly view dog fouling as disgusting and anti-social behavior.
“There is absolutely no excuse for not ‘picking up’ after your dog and it’s clear that constituents support the fixed penalty increase and the council taking strong action to recover all penalties.
“It’s important the council takes the issues seriously.”
In a letter to Councillor Macpherson, Dundee City Council’s head of environmental protection, Gary Robertson wrote: “We shall be approaching the procurator fiscal’s office to discuss and establish if there are any other options open to us as regards seeking to secure a conviction against non-payment.”
Environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful recently revealed that almost 7 in 10 people rated dog fouling as the item on our streets, parks and beaches that bothered them most.
Figures showed that there are around 9 million dogs in the UK, producing over 1,000 tonnes of excrement per day.
It’s illegal under The Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 for owners to not clean up after their pets and in extreme cases lead to conviction and a fine of up to £500.
The biggest threat to public health from dog excrement is toxocariasis – an infection of the roundworm toxocara canis.
Symptoms include eye disorders, vague ache, dizziness, nausea, asthma and, in extremely rare cases, seizures/fits.
In January this year, the Scottish Government doubled fines from £40 to £80 in a bid to tackle the issue.
