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People should challenge pet owners who leave their bagged dog waste on National Trust land, says new chief

A woman walks under a tree drapped with bags of dog faeces - Bob Collier/Bob Collier
A woman walks under a tree drapped with bags of dog faeces - Bob Collier/Bob Collier

Walkers should challenge dog owners who leave their pet's waste lying around in bags in the most beautiful parts of the country, the new head of the National Trust has said.

Hilary McGrady, the trust’s new director general, said her rangers were spending too much time picking up litter and “dog poo” rather than conserving trust properties.

In her first interview since taking over in the role, Mrs McGrady dog dirt left at National Trust properties - some of it bagged and hanging in trees and bushes - was a "nightmare".

Mrs McGrady said: “It is our rangers that have to pick this up – and instead of doing the great conservation work they want to do they spending time clearing up litter and the great awful thing they have to do which is dog poo, which people like to talk to me a lot about. It is a nightmare.”

A Trust source said some dog owners on long walks hang their bagged pet’s waste in trees and then “deliberately forget” to collect it when they go home.

Hilary McGrady, National Trust director general, says bagged dog waste left at properties is a 'nightmare' - Credit: NATIONAL TRUST/ PHOTOGRAPHER -ST /NATIONAL TRUST/ PHOTOGRAPHER -ST
Hilary McGrady, National Trust director general, says bagged dog waste left at properties is a 'nightmare' Credit: NATIONAL TRUST/ PHOTOGRAPHER -ST /NATIONAL TRUST/ PHOTOGRAPHER -ST

The source said: “It is certainly an issue. People hang it on branches and then pick it up at the end of the walk - but then they deliberately forget or do forget [to collect it].”

The Trust has erected signs at its properties where pet owners had picked up dog faeces and left it hanging in bags from trees and fences, urging them to take it home.

Many properties now offer dog mess bins as well as spare leads and free pooper scoop bags for pet owners who leave theirs at home.

The Trust’s guidelines for walking in the New Forest include a reminder for pet owners to “remove dog mess from all areas and dispose of it responsibly”.

The National Trust, with five million members, is Britain's largest private landowner, in charge of an area of land equivalent in size to Dorset. It looks after 300 historic houses and almost 800 miles of coastline.

Hilary McGrady - Credit:  NATIONAL TRUST/ PHOTOGRAPHER -ST/ NATIONAL TRUST/ PHOTOGRAPHER -ST
Hilary McGrady Credit: NATIONAL TRUST/ PHOTOGRAPHER -ST/ NATIONAL TRUST/ PHOTOGRAPHER -ST

Mrs McGrady, 51, a married mother of three who replaced Dame Helen Ghosh as director general on March 12, added: “Littering is a real problem. I was sitting in the car yesterday and a man just threw a cup out of the window.

“I was completely aghast. Who does that these days? It is a real problem that the nation has got protective about. Lots of people are challenging it much, much more that has got to be a good thing.”

Asked how she would react if someone threw a crisp packet out their pocket in a beautiful part of the National Trust’s land she said: “I would have to speak to the person and say: 'What is that about?’”

“’A’ - there is a bin. And ‘B’, more importantly, think about what is the impact of this litter on this environment.

“'What you put into the ground, or what you put onto the ground, is what you put into yourself. How we care for our land is how we care for society and everyone has a part to play in that. 

“'If you are talking about a plastic that is going to be there for hundreds of years and it doesn’t degrade, think about it'.”

Mrs McGrady said that in her new role she wanted to reach more people in urban areas. She said: “The days of walking in to one of our beautiful houses and saying a family lived here, that's not going to do it.

"We need to think about what's relevant - why would someone in the middle of Birmingham say that's interesting? What is it in Birmingham that they would get more value from?"

Environment secretary Michael Gove - Credit:  Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Europe
Environment secretary Michael Gove Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Europe

Earlier this week Mr Gove, the Environment secretary, said walkers should not be afraid of asking others to pick up litter in the countryside.

Mr Gove told the BBC: “All of us should not feel embarrassed by saying to someone who has dropped some litter: ‘Oi! I think this is yours isn’t it?’ 

“We are moving towards a culture – in fact it is already in place where littering and taking a throwaway attitude towards plastic and other products is just becoming socially unacceptable.”