Pooper-scooper

A pooper-scooper, or poop scoop, is a device commonly used to pick up an animal's fecal matter. This includes devices which remove feces from public places or from litter boxes. Pooper-scooper devices often have a bag or bag attachment. 'Poop bags' are alternatives to pooper scoopers, and are simply a bag, usually turned inside out, to carry the feces to a proper disposal area. Sometimes, the person performing the cleanup is also known as the pooper-scooper.

Legality

a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall or stairway of a building abutting on a public .

§ 161.05. Dogs to be restrained.
A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog shall not permit it to be in any public place or in any open or unfenced area abutting on a public place unless the dog is effectively restrained by a leash or chain not more than six feet long.

Authorized employees of New York City Departments of Health (including Animal Care & Control), of Sanitation, or of Parks and Recreation can issue tickets. [(1) cite web
last =Zand
first =Joel R., Esq.
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://www.doglaw.com/New-York-City-Laws/new-york-dog-poop-law.html
title ="New York City's Dog Poop Scoop Law"
work =Legal issues and laws affecting dogs, companion animals, and their people
publisher =Joel R. Zand
accessdate =2006-06-06
New York attorney and dog lawyer
(2) cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date =
year =
month =
url =http://www.nycacc.org/researchtools.htm?Wildlife#
title ="Wildlife"
work =NYC Health Code
publisher =Animal Care & Control of New York City
accessdate =2006-06-06]

Health Concerns

Dog droppings are one of the leading sources of E. coli (fecal coliforms) bacteria pollution: Each gram of dog feces contains over 20,000,000 E. Coli colonies. [Coliform and E. coli are commonly-used field indicators of fecal contamination by animals (including human)] While an individual animal's deposit of feces will not measurably affect the environment, the compounded effect of thousands of dogs and cats in a metropolitan area could create problems due to microbe contamination of soil and water supplies. The runoff from neglected pet waste contaminates water, creating a public health hazard for residents, and stream inhabitants like fish. [cite web
last =
first =
coauthors =
date =n.d.
year =
month =
url =http://www.uvm.edu/~empact/water/scoop_poop.php3
title ="Scoop the Poop Campaign"
work =BurlingtonEcoInfo > Water > issues > Scoop the Poop
publisher =University of Vermont
accessdate =2006-06-06]

The situation is particularly dire in Germany, where an estimated 1400 tonnes of feces are deposited daily on public property. A citizen commission (2005) overwhelmingly recommended a plan that would break even at about seven months. DNA samples would be required when pet licenses come up for renewal. Within a year, a database of some 12,500 registration-required canine residents would be available to sanitation workers with sample-test kits. Evidence would be submitted to a forensics laboratory where technicians could readily match the waste to its dog. The prospect of a prompt fine equivalent to $600 US (at 2005 exchange rate) would help assure preventive compliance, as well as cover costs. [cite news
first =Reinhard
last =Kargl
author =
coauthors =
url =http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/459bf79cab965010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
title =A Pooper Scooper Law with Bite. The Germans consider DNA testing to match poop to pooch
work =Science
publisher =Popular Science
pages =
page =
date=July 2005
accessdate =2006-06-06]

References

Bibliography

*
*
*
*
ROMP (Responsible Owners of Mannerly Pets), metropolitan Twin Cities recreation-advocacy group; June 1996 in Roseville, MN, nonprofit incorporation April 2000 [ [http://www.dogromp.org/aboutROMP/Default.asp About ROMP] ]
*
*
*
New York attorney and dog lawyer;