Dogs in society and the “problem” nobody seems wants to take ownership for OK, let’s cut to the chase…the “problem” I am talking about is dog poop and boy is there a lot of it. I don’t know what I read today to make we want to think about dog shit but my mind has been preoccupied with it all day. Before anyone thinks that this article is going to descend to the level of teenage schoolboy humour there is a much more serious side to the problem of dog faeces. Maybe the reason why I am thinking about it was memories of when I used to work on ingredients that promoted good faeces quality (or kickable stools) when I worked for a major global petfood corporation. However, I have also been thinking a lot about responsibility in the context of pets recently. We all must demonstrate responsibility in some shape or form, depending on our attachment to our dogs whether it is ownership or manufacturing the food we feed our pets. The role of responsible pet owners to “scoop the poop” When it comes to talking Max for a “walk” as responsible pet owners we have a responsibility to “scoop the poop” as we say in the UK. However, worldwide it doesn’t seem that seem to happen and different municipal authorities have different ways of dealing with the problem: - Madrid – Earlier this year the “Guardian” newspaper in the UK feature an article  Madrid dog owners who don't pick up poo will have to clean streets which described hefty fines of up to €1,500 for those that don’t “scoop the poop” or have the option of spending a few days cleaning up others dog shit. France – Another more recent article also in the “Guardian” described the fleet of motocrotte  (customised motorbikes equipped with tanks and vacuum system used to hoover up excrement) in the cities of Marseille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nice Mind the merde: why can't French cities clean up after their dogs? It is reported that the dogs of Montpellier alone deposit 3 tonnes of the stuff on the pavement each day. New York – An article from 2015, The Consequences Of No One Picking Up Their Dog’s Poop Are Horrifying estimated that dogs deposit nearly 90 tonnes of the stuff each day. Overall therefore we have a problem that is not only unpleasant but also carries a public health risk. Due to the nature of excrement, it is a very rich source of faecal coliform bacteria that present a risk of gastroenteritis to not only pet owners but anyone who comes into contact with the stuff. Straight away we can see that as responsible dog owners we should pick up the poop and dispose of it a suitable healthy manner to minimise the risk of infecting the human population especially the young, the elderly and those who have compromised immune systems like HIV sufferers. We should also spare a thought for sports players who often have to play on sports fields that are contaminated with dog poop. The role of responsible pet food manufacturers I don’t however believe that the responsibility lies solely with the dog owners and that the pet food manufacturers also have a clear role to play. After all a proportion of what any healthy animal eats whether they are a dog, a mackerel, a seagull or a human is always excreted once our body has extracted the nutrients we need from it. The petfood manufacturers therefore have a role to play in ensuring that our pet’s food produces “minimal” waste and that the “end-product” can easily be picked up for disposal. This might seem that we are also passing a burden of responsibility onto the pet food industry. This might be the case but also let’s consider the sustainability of the petfood industry and the more specific example of “nutritional sustainability”. Evidence published by the United nations suggests that by 2050, the global population will reach 9.7 billion World population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 Given that all of these people will expect to have access to food, this will put greater pressure on resources used to manufacture food for humans, animals and pets. It is therefore in the interest of responsible pet food manufacturers to manufacture petfood that this not only healthy and meets the pet’s nutritional requirements but is also “nutrient dense” in the sense that the nutrients are delivered to the animal whilst minimising the quantity of faeces produced. This is one of the key aspects of “nutritional sustainability” Nutritional Sustainability of Pet Foods Responsibility of the petfood manufacturer also goes further. Pet food manufacturers might measure the digestibility of the food they manufacture and the ingredients used. However, they also have the challenge of communicating the concept of digestibility and its importance to pet owners. Only by this shared responsibility can be start to address the problem of dog poop on our streets and parks.

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by David Primrose