Local fury as ‘disgusting” dog walkers continue to destroy Edinburgh’s green spaces

Ratho locals say Tormain Woods has been left ruined due to hundreds of mess filled dog bags littering the idyllic woodland walk.

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Ratho residents who use the popular green space have asked the council to consider putting more bins in the area to curb the problem.

Currently, the majority of the mess is being tidied up by local volunteers who have become dismayed by the recurring problem.

Hundreds of dog poos removed from the woods by locals.

Anne Barry, 37, has collected hundreds of bags from the area since lockdown began and said the popularity of the walk during the pandemic has led to a steady rise in the amount of dog mess in the area.

“It’s absolutely disgusting,” Mrs Barry said. “You don’t feel like you can walk anywhere. It’s caused by the irresponsible and selfish few but it makes a big problem for us all.”

Councillor Sue Webber has called for Edinburgh City Council to introduce more bins in the area.

Cllr Webber said: “It really is rather disappointing to hear that all the effort by local volunteers, young and old, to clear up what appears to have been months and months of poo bags has not been noticed by the irresponsible people leaving them.

“I cannot iterate this enough, please please dispose of your dog waste responsibility. I shall go back and ask yet again for a poo bin to be situated here. We have to do something to support these environmental volunteers.”

Councillor Karen Doran, Environment Convener said the dog walkers actions are completely irresponsible.

She said: “There’s no excuse for leaving dog dirt where people are walking anywhere in our beautiful city. This is completely irresponsible behaviour by a small minority of owners who should know how important it is to pick up after their pooch. If you’re not near a bin or the bin is full then please take it home and dispose of it properly.

“We’re always working to tackle this issue but it’s not always possible to catch irresponsible dog owners in the act. I would encourage people to report any incidents of dog fouling on our website so we can respond as quickly as possible. It’s really easy to do this and we’d encourage people to give any details they can if they know who the culprit is www.edinburgh.gov.uk/dogfouling.”

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