The growing health hazard of dog mess in Bailey Park pushed some town councillors to suggest banning dogs from the area. At a town council meeting last week, councillors suggested taking draconian measures to stop the menace of dog mess by prohibiting dogs from entering the park, unless owners took responsibility for what their pets may leave behind.

The tongue-in-cheek remark was met with guffaws at Thursday’s meeting, when Councillor Teslin Davies, of Labour, then offered her more cerebral solution to the plight of dog mess.

“The dilemma is that the fines are in place, but policing it is not an easy task. You’d have to catch someone ‘in the act’, so to speak. I don’t think members of the public would be too keen to take photographic evidence of such things!,” she said later on.

Councillor Davies, who represents Priory Ward, said that dog mess was a ‘massive problem’ in Abergavenny, and that education – especially on the health issue – would help dog owners clean up after their pets.

The council-led campaign, ‘Give Dog Fouling the Red Card’ aims to scoop up the issue.

Volunteers patrol problem areas, handing out clean-up bags to dog owners and advice on the health risks involved with dog mess.

Toxocariasis can cause serious illness, and can even lead to blindness. It is caused by a parasite, known as Toxocara Canis, also commonly referred to as Roundworm.

The parasite lives in dogs’ digestive systems, and so dogs act as hosts.

• How should the town council deal with dog mess? Contact Christopher Gage at [email protected] to express your views.