O’Loan’s dogged campaign on fouling sees success

The move comes in the wake of repeated calls by the SDLP councillor for action on irresponsible pet owners who fail to clear up their dog’s mess on town streets and in the ecos park.

“I have raised this matter at Council on a number of occasions and have pointed out that other councils have greater resources to deal with this work than Ballymena. This appointment has emerged directly from consideration of this,” he said.

“The new staff member, like existing staff, will be involved in educating the public and attempting to change behaviours as well as enforcement through penalties. But make no mistake, there have to be penalties, and they are well deserved.

“There are a few dog owners who are totally irresponsible and who will leave dog fouling behind them if they can get away with it. The only message they will understand is a penalty ticket,” said Cllr O’Loan.

“It is hard to catch those who misbehave in this way. Sometimes members of the public know who is involved and I would encourage them to report names to the Environmental Health Department,” he said.