..meet it...

MrsMopp it's really NOT an advantage if a cat buries its poo. I would rather see it where I can deal with it than meet up below the surace when I'm planting bulbs etc

Maybe my memory is playing up but didn't we have a thread about surviving village life a year or so ago? I'm sure it was linked to somebody's book or blog.

Same author?

I don't remember dog poo being mentioned though.

Perhaps cat owners could train their cats to use a litter tray so that the cat owners have the bother of dealing with their mess perhaps? I am fed up of having to clear piles of cat mess off my lawn every week - and I've tried every method of deterrent, but still it appears. When I had a cat I trained it to use a litter tray, so I don't see why others don't.

Our last dog used to do a sort of ineffectual scratching of the lawn in a vain attempt to cover it up, mrsmopp

Cats bury their own poo. Show me a dog who can do that!

How can you blame the owner for a cat pooing in someone else's garden? It would mean that they would never be able to let their cat out of the house.

The cats don't bury it in our garden. (Well, one does and I generally find it when it's stuck to my gardening glove.) The others leave it all over the place. Garden beds, lawn, veggie patch. They sneak in at night and booby trap the place. I keep having to borrow the DC's dogs to discourage them. At least they stick to the lawn and we're looking out for it. There's no way of telling when a cat will strike!

given that we've destroyed the lives and habitats of many animals can't we be a little more lenient?

But it's not the dogs we are blaming, Eloethan, it's their irresponsible owners, presumably human!

Cats usually defecate in nice soft soil then bury it, so that if you have prepared soil for planting then go to plant you may find it. It's unpleasant but if you wear gardening gloves not too hazardous.

Dogs just poo on the grass where children may play.

By the way, I am a dog lover, not a cat lover, but I am realistic.

How can you possibly stop a cat pooing in other people's gardens? It's not very nice, admittedly, but really aren't things getting a bit out of proportion.

The animals that create the most havoc and pollution are human beings - given that we've destroyed the lives and habitats of many animals can't we be a little more lenient?

Pompa - I do not think that the fact that the trout does not learn from experience necessarily means they do not feel pain - it just means they are not very bright.

Cats have a 'right to roam' (unfortunately) whereas dogs have to be kept under their owners' control.

Yet cats can poo everywhere all over neighbours gardens and owners do not have any responsibilty to clean it up! One rule for dogs owners and another for cats owners! If you have a pet, clean up its mess and dont expect others to have to do it!

Walking not waking!

If dog owners don't want turds in their cars why do they think I want it hanging on a tree at eye level or left on the ground when I go waking?? Self-centred immaturity to say the least!

Agree with you about wild meat Pompa. Despite TV programmes and other publicity the way a lot of animals are farmed is appalling - especially abroad. It should put poo into perspective but I bet most of the people who don't pick up also drop litter and don't care where their meat comes from as long as it's cheap. I fear many are lost causes.

What I can't understand is those who pick up and hang the poo bags in hedges when there's a bin nearby or they're within walking distance of home. I can understand not wanting to take poo into the car but we carry old supermarket bags for extra protection.

Is it just a pathetic attempt at rebellion?

Mishap, I agree with you in the main. However I do not think that fish feel pain as we do. I have come to this conclusion from personal experience having both caught the same trout in quick succession and having a trout take both of the flies on my cast. Had they felt pain from the hook, I doubt they would immediately take another fly within a few seconds or minutes. Also they only seem to know they are caught when they feel the restraint of a line, let it slack and they will quietly swim off. (this is how we try to release undersize fish, with barbless hooks they often fall out when the line is slack.)

I do openly admit that I enjoy fishing, trying to outwit that big old trout, but I also respect my prey. This is the deep rooted hunter instinct in me.

I prefer to eat wild game when possible, as, up to the moment it was shot, it had a wild natural life, better IMO that many farmed animals.

ps I think he just wants to sell his book How to survive the English Village: a guide for retirees, returning expats and folk not from these parts
Try to fit in with village life would be my advice.

I have nothing against fishing if the fish is eaten, after being swiftly killed - that is just part of the food chain.

I do however find it distasteful when the hook is pulled out of the mouth, the fish is trapped for a while in a net (until it can be shown off) and then thrown back in.

I do not think that fish are the most intelligent of beings, but it is hard to assume that they do not feel pain.

Oh go on, have a go at fishermen.
As a fisherman myself and a water bailiff for a while I find the littering habits of some to be appalling. This is one of the major problems facing clubs today. It amazed me the lengths anglers would go to hide rubbish, it would have been easier to take it home. No we don't want bins, that just means someone else has to take it home for them (like the poo bins). MY old club have now started employing people to clear up litter and are providing porta loos to try overcome the problem on their most popular waters.
Interestingly our fly fishing lake does not suffer this problem, the only litter we get is either wind blown or dropped by dog walkers (they don't always take their dog's poo), all the anglers will clear any litter they find, we take pride in our lake. I say our, because it is a private syndicate of only 25 and we all share in the upkeep.

My house is the last in a street in small market town in East Anglia. The road continues over the river to the next village and there are lots of good walks along the river and in the countryside. I own the field across the river and have the joy of a public footpath for 500 yards on my land. During the daytime a person with a dog will walk along this footpath at least once every hour and most people clear up their dog's mess. But this morning two offending piles were deposited opposite the house and we didn't see who it was.

We also own part of a large field (out of view of the house) which has a bridleway running for 200 yards on our land. Often there is an occasional pile left by a lazy dog owner. A friend commented last week that the bridleway was impossible to walk due to dog mess so we investigated. TWENTY THREE piles of poo left along the bridleway so we set to with spray paint to highlight the hazards and notice/flags on sticks adjacent to every pile. Next day TWO more piles had appeared. Some people are just too lazy to clear up after their dog - and there is a poo bin at the end of the bridleway!!

I really just despair at the rudeness/inconsiderate attitude of some dog owners. Please don't get me started on fishermen either!

When the DC were small, they went down a slide which had evidently been used by a child with dog muck on his/her shoes. I had to put everything in the wash with disinfectant when I got them home, even the duffle coat that was 'dry clean only'; fortunately it emerged as good as new. That was the worst of quite a number of episodes in their childhood.

Is Villem Saks an anagram for Mike Vassall or something like that??

Is he an incomer or an indigenous villager..I think we should be told! Sound a cynic whatever!

Maybe GNHQ should explain the changes from Michael to Villem, particularly Eloethan's post.