MOANING about the council starting to ration 'poop scoops' among dog-owners in Barnoldswick, Councillor David Whipp says the restrictions are crazy -- and that the town's dogs deserve better.

But why on earth should council taxpayers be, in effect, expected to subside dog ownership and the duty that dog-lovers have to ensure that the streets and public open spaces are not left fouled by their pets?

It really is incredible that a quarter of a million poop scoops have been dished out by the council since the 1980s in a small place like Barnoldswick, all in an effort to get dog owners to behave responsibly and remove their pets' dung.

For why should untold expense be lavished on a particular section of the community in order to encourage them to clean up after their animals -- when both the law and morality rule against them failing to do so?

All that is required to drive that message home is not wholesale issuing of poop scoops or even the rationed distribution of them, but a few stiff, salutary fines on lazy owners of dogs to remind everyone that it is the responsibility of every dog owner to pick and bin their dogs' muck at their own expense, not that of the public.