I am allowed to exercise my dogs over a farmers fields near me. He is very proud to be part of the countryside wardenship scheme. All the local dog walkers go there he has no problems with us.
Yet again we have Thame Country Fair on land nearby. Yesterday while walking my dogs over the fields four men came over with a black lab, a terrier, what looked like an austrailian cattle dog and a GSP. They were allowing their dogs to run all over the place. The GSP in particular was ranging some 500-800 yards in around them so to all intents and purposes they were not in contact or control of their dog. They walked off the tracks the farmer has provided across a set aside through the area preserved for ground nesting birds and then through the small wood were there are pheasants!
Last year the farmer had cattle down on these fields and again the same thing happened with dogs chasing the cattle. Poor Tom is so good and this how some ignorant people behave. All Tom's work setting up the area and encouraging the birds is gone to nothing! Last year he had notices up asking people to keep to the tracks and keep  their dogs on leads, all totally ignored. I just wish the bright spark who decded to have Thame Country Fair had not ever thought of it or encouraged it! I enjoy Country Fairs as a rule and enjoy taking my dogs, but I never let them off the lead at a country fair unless competeing in a competition and am as a country person always aware of areas which are being used as Tom's land is. There is no excuse for stock worrying either, as happened last year.

Hi Polly, :)

We have the same problem with people on our land. We have a footpath running through two of the fields but they stray off it and wander round with their dogs leaving poo all over, especially certain neighbours who use it as a dog toilet. During foot and mouth we had even more people tresspassing depite notices, because the footpaths were closed they just used our fields. We closed our footpath but folk just climbed over the walls.  :(  We've had dogs chasing our cows and poultry too. Last year someone decided one of our field hedges was blocking his view so just hacked it down instead of coming and asking us to trim it. He damaged it so badly we had to fence it to keep the cows in.

I have the greatest sympathy for your friend Tom. It's very stressful protecting your property and keeping the disrespectful public at bay.

Kath.

They should know better :-(

Helen

Slightly off topic but I am lucky enough to have a massive field opposite my house with public access so have had great fun taking Leon for his first walks this weekend. I went on one occasion with a friend who was amazed when I cleaned up after him, she said surely I didn't have to pick up poo in a field? Hello? Completely oblivious and i'm sad to say a dog owner herself.

Charlie, like you we have fields opposite us where we can let your dogs off and if they poo on the feild we leave it, no-one walks there.  However before everyone starts complaining if the dogs poo on the path, close to the path, or in the picinc area we do clear it up!  Not that the horse mess is cleard up from the path :(

Rox

Under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996   "If a dog fouls any footpath, highway, verge or other open space to which the public have access the person in charge of a dog must clean up after it.  The only exceptions being agricultural land or if the fouling is permitted by the owner of the land in question or if it is on or alongside a road, the speed limit of which exceeds 40 miles per hour.

We can't make people clean up after their dogs as it's agricultural land.   The odd few poos around the field aren't a problem but when our neighbours bring their 2 dogs in twice a day just to poo (which could amount to over 700 poos a year just from them ) it's rather annoying. They have no garden and 2 Springers! :(

Like you say Rox, if it's on or near the footpath it should be cleaned up.  An agricultural footpath should really be no different from any other, people should be able to walk on it without watching what they step in.

Kath.

Sorry, wasn't very clear about that - we were on the path. Agree about the horse poo though! Big steaming piles of it! I would imagine you probably only lose concentration and step in it once!! (Hope so anyway)

At least horse poo is fairly solid, it's the sloppy-cow-pats-with-solid-crust you have to watch out for, or you end up with a "step, slide and land on your bum in it!" situation. :D

Polly, I hardly think the irresponisble actions of a few individuals are the faullt of the organisers of the fair. My friend who has a trade stand at most of the big game fairs & so called "country" fairs (although they usually have little to do with the real country!! :( ) says that thame fair is the only one where he cannot risk leaving his trade stand in the evening to shop for provisions, because it would be nicked by the time he got back! :shock: Apparently the crime level at this fair is worse than any other....so much so that he isnt doing it this year its so bad :(
The organisers do their best but apparently ther is a less than desirable local element in this neck of the woods.

I always pick up in the fields as well - and always have - firstly to get the kids into the habit of picking up poos, and secondly, seeing as we'll be the ones walking there again, we'll be the people walking in it.   See my post about golfers for a laugh!!!

Margot

I've just been reading that Margot. Brilliant! I'd have loved to see their faces when they opened the bag. :D

Kath.

I wasn't blaming the organisers, I just saying we have had trouble each year with those attending and I wished the people who thought it would be a good idea to have one, had not bothered. As to yob element, well it is bad round here and some stories I could tell you are shocking, but the police don't ever seem to be able to anything about these yobs. The police told me when they broke my windows that I needed two independant witnesses to give statements as to who it was. Of course I could not get two witnesses, but the yobs very pleased with themselves told me they would back each other up and so had the two independant witnesses, to say it was not them.

Sorry to be rude polly where about in Bucks are you? Thame itself?

Soory I am having a senior moment again. Yes I am near Thame.
Polly