Dog owners urged to use 'stick and flick' instead of poo bags
Dog walkers are being urged not to bag up their pet's poo in the countryside, and to use a stick to flick it into the undergrowth instead.
The Forestry Commission believes that plastic bags used to put dog poo in are blighting Britain's beautiful countryside.
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Conservative MP Anne Main will reportedly advocate the 'stick and flick' method during an upcoming Westminster debate as she believes poo bags put in hedges and hanging from trees are a nationwide problem.
Mrs Main, MP for St Albans, told the BBC: "Like many people, I like to walk my dog out in the countryside, parks and in woodland, but over the last few years I've noticed an increasing number of dog poo bags hanging off bushes, trees and railings - and it's disgusting.
"People think it's the right thing to do to pick it up, but when they find there aren't any bins, they jettison the poo-bag into the undergrowth or lob it over a garden fence where animals can eat them, children pick them up or cyclists ride into them."
She said people often have good intentions, putting a poo bag in a tree and intending to pick it up on the way home, and then forget.
She added: "We have to work with human nature. People are not going to carry a dollop of dog poo on a three hour walk - and you are not going to find a bin in Ashdown Forest."
According to the Telegraph, the Forestry Commission has produced a poem in an attempt to spread the message about the stick and flick method, which includes the lines: "If your dog should do a plop, take a while and make a stop, just find a stick and flick it wide into the undergrowth at the side.
"If your dog should do a do, you don't want it on your shoe, find a stick, pick a spot, flick into the bushes so it can rot."
Keep Britain Tidy estimates there are more than eight million dogs in the UK, which produce more than 1,000 tonnes of poo every day.
The Dogs Trust advises dog owners to use public litter bins to dispose of dog mess when there are no specific dog waste bins available.
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