As summer gets into full swing, the Lake District National Park Authority is reminding visitors to take all litter home with them to protect the landscape they love.
This year there’s been an increase in dog poo being left behind. To help raise awareness of this issue, the Lake District National Park Authority is launching a humorous Leave only pawprints campaign to remind people of this important message.
In a series of short films and signs, Lake District canine residents Milo, Snoop and Nala will be telling their human parents some facts about how dangerous dog poo is to their other four-legged Lake District friends.
Lake District National Park Authority Area Ranger, Marian Jones, said: “It’s unfortunate that we have to highlight this problem, but the instances of dog fouling within the National Park seem to be higher than we’ve seen before.
“People tend to think that if they are out on the fells their dog’s waste will act as fertiliser as they see sheep and cow faeces on their travels. This couldn’t be further from the truth and in fact dog poo is extremely dangerous for other animals. It can even cause pregnant sheep to abort.
“We’ve also seen an increase in people who have picked up their dog’s poo and bagged it and then attached it to a tree or fence. It takes up to a year for a biodegradable dog poo bag to disintegrate and I’m sure that I’m not alone in saying it’s not a nice way to decorate the Lake District.”
The new Lake District National Park awareness campaign is a reminder that there are no bins out on the fells, please take all your litter, including dog poo, home with you and leave the landscape you love exactly as you found it.
The Leave only pawprints communications campaign is part of the wider Lake District Kind campaign and consists of short films for social media alongside other content, an email newsletter, blog, and temporary signage which will be rolled out throughout the summer in key areas.
