Ashdown Forest: People urged to clean up dog faeces

Wardens at the forest say leaving dog’s faeces can kill endangered birds, affect rare heathland and cause livestock to abort their young.

They want people to bag up dog waste for these reasons.

It comes amid an effort to keep the forest clean as visitor numbers soar over summer.

Ashdown Forest is home to a lot of rare wildlife (Image: The Argus)

Kari Dunbar, lead warden for Ashdown Forest, said: “First and foremost, dog poo is disgusting. We love seeing families with their children being able to run out of the car parks to enjoy their walks on the forest’s beautiful tracks and paths.

“Nothing ruins that more than tripping up and falling in dog poo. Cleaning poo off your shoes before you get back in your car is also no fun.

“It’s a bit gross, but poo also attracts foxes that eat it and they can then turn their attention to the eggs and chicks of the ground and low nesting birds like nightjars and Dartford warblers. It is these two species that are the emblems of the heathland on Ashdown Forest.”

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Wardens say the rare lowland heathland, which supports many specialist plants that need low nutrient conditions, is at risk of being overpowered by common plants.

This is because dog waste is high in nitrogen and phosphorus which act as fertilisers and allow common plants and grasses to take over.

Wardens said the more dog poo that is left, the less heathland and the wildlife that depends on it, there will be.

Ashdown Forest contains lowland heathland (Image: The Argus)

Dog excrement is dangerous for the ponies, cattle and sheep that graze the forest and can carry a disease that has been known to cause livestock to abort their young.

Pets with insecticides such as flea and worming treatments can also have an impact on the environment.

“When pets are treated with insecticides such as flea treatments, their poo becomes even more toxic and the chemicals can wash off dogs as they enter ponds or streams – poisoning insects and other invertebrates.”

Wardens in the forest still “love to see dogs and their owners enjoying the forest” but are asking people to look after it by bagging and disposing of dog waste.