SINGAPORE – There have been calls over the years for harsher penalties for dog owners and walkers who fail to pick up after their dogs in public spaces. Such behaviour can also cause friction among neighbours.
To encourage dog owners to clean up their act in Bukit Timah, where up to a third of the households are dog owners, a group of young people launched the PAWsitive Norms campaign last Saturday (Apr 10).
They aim to get dog owners to abide by what they describe as previously unwritten social norms – namely keeping dogs leashed on walks, cleaning up any dog waste and throwing it away in designated bins.
“For a lot of us in the area, this issue (of dog waste littering) is a long-standing one so we decided to take it into our own hands,” said Mr Tatum Khoo, chairman of the Bukit Timah Youth Network (BTYN) behind the campaign.
The 24-year-old public servant said the idea had been in the works for a while, but was firmed up at the end of last year.
For a start, the campaign has invited people to make virtual pledges to express their support for the guidelines.
The campaign has started in the Mayfair Park Estate in Upper Bukit Timah, and organisers hope to take it throughout the estate and possibly beyond.
Mayfair Park resident Mavis Kuek, a retired corporate communications professional in her 60s, said: “I think it’s good to remind people about acting responsibly and it’s great that this is a community effort to give us a place that we and our furry friends can enjoy.”
PAWsitive Norms was launched at the official opening of the Mayfair Park Playground Dog Run, where dogs to play unleashed, by Senior Minister of State and MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Sim Ann.
The dog run is one of about 14 in parks around Singapore. About 15 dog owners attended its opening with their pets in Mayfair Park, a small community park on the edge of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.
Ms Lim Ee Yin, 50, a Mayfair Park Estate resident and accountant who was there with her two-year-old Shiba Inu named Suki, said: “I think it’s great. It gives dogs a safe place to run and we don’t have to worry that they will run off onto the road or run off, and they can play with each other and make friends.”