NOW that the anti-smoking lobby have finally brought in the new cigarette packaging rules (standard green packaging showing the harmful effect of smoking) perhaps it is time that all dog food packaging started to show the harmful effects that “toxicara” found in roundworm in dog faeces has on people.

These apparently include ‘serious illness even blindness’. Labelling dog food in this way might encourage people to pick up after them, especially if there was a warning of a heavy fine for not cleaning up after the dog and perhaps a free dog poo bag with every tin/pouch.

I recently challenged a couple with three dogs (the man had twice looked as the dog did its poo on the grass a foot in from the path).

The woman replied that as the mess wasn’t actually on the path she didn’t think that she had to “pick it up”.

A few heavy fines and a lot of publicity is the answer to the curse of the lazy dog owners.

D M Deamer, Penley’s Grove Street, Monkgate, York