Dog owners' responsibilities

Going for a walk in Malta is like an obstacle race - you have to dodge all the dog excrement. It's hard to enjoy the scenery under these circumstances!

I agree with Dawn Penney (Neglected Strand, February 9) that something needs to be done about this.

However, most of the responsibility for this lies with the dog owners not the government or the local council. Pet owners should be cleaning after their canine friends when they take them for a walk. The government's responsibility should be to pass laws with appropriate fines for those who break them and the local council's responsibility should be to enforce those laws.

Stray dogs should also be rounded up and put up for adoption. There should also be an enforceable dog and cat licensing scheme like in many other countries.

Sidewalks and gardens covered in dog excrement will not do anything to encourage tourism, not to mention the health hazard this presents to people, especially little children.