Clear your dog's poo! Campaign to spur pawsitive behaviour

There have been calls over the years for harsher penalties for dog owners and walkers who fail to pick up after their dogs in public spaces.

Such behaviour can also cause friction among neighbours.

To encourage dog owners in Bukit Timah - where up to a third of the households are dog owners - to clean up their act, a group of young people last Saturday launched the PAWsitive Norms campaign.

They aim to get dog owners to abide by what they describe as previously unwritten social norms - namely, keeping dogs leashed during walks and cleaning up any dog waste and throwing it away in designated bins.

"For a lot of us in the area, this issue (of dog waste littering) is a longstanding one, so we decided to do something about it," said Ms Tatum Khoo, chairman of the Bukit Timah Youth Network, which is behind the campaign.

The 24-year-old public servant said the idea had been in the works for a while, but was firmed up at the end of last year.

For a start, the campaign has invited people to make virtual pledges to express their support for the guidelines.

The campaign has begun in Mayfair Park Estate in Upper Bukit Timah, and organisers hope to expand it in the future.

Mayfair Park resident Mavis Kuek, a retired corporate communications professional in her 60s, said: "I think it's good to remind people about acting responsibly, and it's great that this is a community effort aimed at giving us a place that we and our furry friends can enjoy."

PAWsitive Norms was launched at the official opening of the Mayfair Park Playground Dog Run - where dogs get to play unleashed - by Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann, who is an MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

The dog run is one of about 15 in parks around Singapore. About 15 dog owners and their pets were at its opening in Mayfair Park, a small community park on the edge of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Ms Lim Ee Yin, 50, a Mayfair Park Estate resident and accountant who was there with Suki, her two-year-old shiba inu, said: "I think it's great. It gives dogs a safe place to run and we don't have to worry that they will run off onto the road... and they can play with one another and make friends."