Time to shame irresponsible dog owners who are ‘mostly men’ – Yorkshire Post Letters

COULD I also add my voice to the understandable outrage of farmers who have to deal with the consequences of dogs worrying and killing their sheep?

Some years ago, when my friends and I went for long countryside walks with our dogs, we came across a field and could not believe our eyes when we saw numerous dead sheep – it was deeply distressing and we abandoned our walk to try to find the owner of the sheep.

Sometimes this is impossible because the farmhouse may be miles away from where the sheep are grazing.

I can’t emphasise what an awful experience this was for us as responsible walkers but, for the farmer, it must have been soul-destroying.

Another more local unpleasantness that has reared its ugly head because of the pandemic, and caused by irresponsible dog-owners, who are now having to walk their dogs as opposed to handing this task over to a professional dog-walker, is the disgusting habit of not picking up dog mess.

The problem has become acute in my local park where I walk. Although youths are responsible for the litter problems that occur there, the main culprits of the dog-poo laxity is the older generation (mainly men).

They just fling a ball as far as they can so that the dog can run after it which enables the owners to be glued to their mobile phones and take no notice whatsoever as to the ablutions of their dogs.

Tories benefit from split

From: Emilie Knight, Manor Drive South, York.

ON the proposed reorganisation of local councils across North Yorkshire, I’m shocked to read that our local MP Julian Sturdy and a handful of local councillors double down on proposals, which would see services disrupted and time and money wasted to further remove everyday decision-making that affects all of us.

You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to see how the East-West council split proposal benefits Conservatives in the long run, taking over areas which have made it clear that they do not trust the Conservatives to run local services.

Rather than pushing the interests of Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby’s district councils, perhaps Mr Sturdy, along with the handful of Conservative councillors, could instead concentrate on those of his own residents.

In the midst of an international pandemic, it surely makes more sense to back proposals that cause as little disruption as possible to allow councils to concentrate on recovery? Time after time our local voice gets ignored by Westminster – I don’t think it would benefit anyone to have local decisions made by representatives who are blind to the issues and challenges facing our city.

Even as the Government continues to refuse to consider meaningful One Yorkshire-style devolution, the least they can do is to ensure that this latest process doesn’t hurt our local services and communities.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click here to subscribe.