Jumilla tries carrot and stick approach to tackle growing problem of dog mess
Council campaign offers free bag dispensers to pet owners, but warns that police will fine those who shirk their “responsibility to keep the town cleaner”
Jumilla Town Hall is aiming to improve the local environment by cutting a different kind of emissions, specifically dog poo.
The objective is to reduce the amount of dog mess in the municipality’s streets and public spaces, right down to “pet” zero.
In order to help residents to reach this target, the council’s urban cleaning department has launched a campaign called “Operación Zero Cacas” (Operation Zero Poos).
This entails distributing free dispensers full of bags for dog owners to collect their pets’ excrement.
For those who are still inconsiderate enough to ignore this plea for basic civility, the council has reminded that there are fines for not cleaning up after pets, which range from €60 up to €300.
It would be nice to think that nowadays it would no longer be necessary to hold campaigns such as this one, but sadly the problem has actually been getting worse in the municipality, leading to acrimony between residents and a growing health risk.
The councillor responsible for this issue, María Herrero says the aim is to “reinforce pet owners’ conscientiousness about their responsibility to keep the town cleaner”.
The bag dispensers are available to collect from local veterinary clinics as of today, Tuesday August 26.
To obtain one, it is necessary to show your pet’s health card, which must be properly registered with the Region of Murcia pet identification system (SIAMU), which indicates that there are about 7,000 pets in Jumilla.
The councillor is also asking pet owners to clean up their animals’ urine in public spaces, in order to prevent bad smells and permanent stains.
The local police are actively collaborating with the campaign, as although the objective is not to levy fines but to make people more conscientious, fines will be issued to those who reoffend or act wilfully inconsiderately.
And also on the subject of pets, the councillor spoke out against abandonment of animals, noting that there have already been 80 cases in the municipality so far this year.
As well as being totally unacceptable, this is classified as a very serious infringement and can be punished with fines of between €6,000 and €30,000.
Images: Ayuntamiento de Jumilla
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