Doggy-doos – please don’t

By EMMA SUN
A CRICKETER who uses the Belgrave South Recreation Reserve has appealed for dog walkers to pick up after their pets or walk them elsewhere.
Brad Trinnick, who is a lifetime member of the South Belgrave Cricket Club, said dog droppings all over the reserve was a regular occurrence and had caused players endless grief.
He said while cricket club members did find the doggy-doo a big problem, they didn’t report the issue with Yarra Ranges Council.
But he could understand why the move was made.
“During the summer, prior to the council putting signs up, the amount of dog droppings on the ground was just ridiculous,” he said.
“There are owners that are just too lazy to pick up after their dog and it’s those people that have probably ruined it for others that want to walk their dogs on the oval.”
Mr Trinnick said the cricket club members had to get rid of the dog poo before playing, but ones they might miss could pose a health threat to players.
“On a weekly basis, there would be about 10 scattered around the oval,” he said.
“We have to get a spade and just throw them over the fence, but say we missed one and someone had a cut on their knee and was on the field in shorts, they could fall and actually get dog poo in their cut.
“It’s unlikely, but not impossible.”
Mr Trinnick said a solution might be for the council to impose fines on those who didn’t pick up after their dogs.
“The council could let the dogs on the reserve and fine those who get caught not picking up after their dog,” he said.
“That way it won’t ruin it for everyone and could be a compromise between nothing and something, because that’s going to be a deterrent for those who might do it.”
Yarra Ranges Council spokeswoman Tracey Varley said it the sign was typical across most sporting fields and aimed to protect the condition of the grounds for people that used it for sport.
She said there were other areas in the shire where people could walk their dogs and encouraged people with pets to try using other places.