A new system for reporting human faeces may be introduced after a “revolting” incident that nearly killed a West Highlands dog.
Arisaig woman Ali Bunn, 53, was walking her two collies at Peanmeanach Beach on the morning of Wednesday, November 27, when her nine-month-old pup, Iris, began wobbling on the way back to the car.
Ms Bunn feared for Iris’ life when the young collie became unconscious during the drive to the local vet.
Thankfully, Iris regained consciousness at the clinic after vomiting up the toxic substance that had poisoned her.
The vet said she had ingested cannabis, most likely from human excrement, which seems to be a growing problem in the area.
West Coast woman asks authorities to introduce human fouling report system
The West Coast resident explained that she tried to report the problem to the authorities but that doing so was “almost impossible”.
She said: “What worries me is that there is quite a significant issue but there’s no way of reporting it.”
The 53-year-old decided to take action and sent an email to Angus MacDonald, MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire.
The email read: “I am contacting you because as I have now discovered, it is almost impossible to report human waste.
“I contacted SEPA – not their remit. I tried to report via the Highland Council website and can only report it as a litter / street cleaning issue – ironically, I can report dog fouling, but not human fouling.
“It is quite clear from what the vet said that this is not an isolated incident, rather it is a regular occurrence.
“But it appears there is no way to record it, therefore no data and no evidence of a problem.
“I would be most grateful if you could raise this issue so that at the very least people can report incidents.”
MP Angus MacDonald raised human faeces issue to Scottish Government
The Liberal Democrat MP responded to Ms Bunn’s email on December 12 and said he had written a letter to Minister for Public Health Jenni Minto.
The letter, seen by The P&J, highlighted “a gap in our public health and environmental reporting systems.”
Mr MacDonald asked the Scottish Government to “consider introducing a dedicated reporting process, whether through SEPA, local councils, or another appropriate channel, to ensure that incidents involving human waste can be recorded and addressed.”
The MP confirmed he is yet to receive a response.
Scottish Government says it is a Highland Council matter
A Scottish Government spokesperson explained that the report of human waste would not be an issue within its jurisdiction.
He said: “It’s a matter for the Highland Council in terms of their waste management.”
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “The enquiry is with the environmental health service but we’ve yet to receive a response.
“Our access rangers collate data (including reporting human waste), we also use social media messaging to remind the public of the SOAC and ways to dispose of human waste if required to toilet outdoors.”
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