Homes in North Edinburgh are being targeted by a dirty postcard campaign orchestrated by Granton Council.
If you’re thinking of the ‘saucy seaside’ type, such as the one where a nurse is left holding a pan of boiling water while her patient runs away, to be told by a doctor: “Nurse! I told you to prick his boil!”, then you couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, these postcards graphically depict the fallout from stepping in a fresh dollop of dog poop.
The new scheme, which is piloting in the Boswall Parkway region, is aimed at reducing the amount of dog mess on the streets.
The postcard shows stomach-churning close-ups of dog mess that are just about to be trodden in.
The new scheme, which is costing the council £800, will also see biodegradable graffiti sprayed on pavements, featuring a picture of a squatting dog and the legend ‘Don’t make our city EdinbURGH!‘.
It is hoped that the message will encourage dog owners to be more responsible and clean up after their pets.
A community safety officer for North Edinburgh, Ruth Stanley, stated that fouled pavements had been a major source of complaints, but denied that the council had resorted to shocking tactics. She said:
“This is a city-wide problem but there are patches where it’s worse, or where people feel more strongly about it.”
“It’s hard to say whether this pilot will change people’s behaviour but we think there are a lot of people who, if they realised it was having such a negative effect on other people, would maybe take more responsibility for their dog’s mess.”
“We have taken a little more light-hearted approach with this and think it will stand out and make people stop and pay attention.”
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