Dog owners urged to '˜stick and flick' countryside poo

A 'stick and flick' policy is being put forward

Sussex dog walkers are being urged to use a stick and flick their pet's poo into the undergrowth, rather than bagging it up.

Advice from the Forestry Commission asks that dog walkers, while in the countryside, should ‘stick and flick’.

“No one likes to see discarded dog waste bags,” a spokesperson said.

“We are trying to encourage people to use ‘stick and flick’ in the forest. If your dog fouls the path in the forest please use a stick to remove the waste from the path into the undergrowth where it can break down naturally.”

And an MP is even set to raise the issue in a debate at the House of Commons.

Anne Main, the member for St Albans, a dog-owner herself, believes that the ubiquitous poo-filled bags hanging from trees are a nationwide problem. And research has found that in 2014-15, local authorities in England and Wales received 73,824 complaints about dog fouling.

Speaking to the BBC, the MP described the countryside blight of plastic bags as “a massive problem”.