The Dilemma of Political Correctness
We have recently become dog owners for the first time. The said canine is very grey around the muzzle, half deaf and half blind (some would say just like me). It is now my companion whenever I journey out to find another blogging subject and will sit patiently by me while I try to get THE photographic shot, irrespective of how long it takes. HOWEVER…
Whenever I go into town the dog seems to have the knack of poo-ing in the most public of places – usually in the middle of the broad grass median strip separating the highway that traverses the middle of town. And being a new conscientious dog owner I am always ready with the plastic bag to pick up the deposits and place them in the nearest rubbish bin.
In the time it takes me to get out the plastic bag and bend down to scoop up the poo, dung beetles have arrived (even before the flies) and are already burrowing in. They come from everywhere. Not being an aficionado of dung beetles I have no idea of the genus or species. Australia has over five hundred species of dung beetles and about two dozen species which have been introduced.
What I do know is that it leaves me with a problem. Do I leave the poo where it is and let nature’s little poo scavengers do their job? Do I pick up the poo (and the beetles) in a plastic bag, knot it up and then deposit the bag in the rubbish (and thereby consigning the beetles to a certain death)? Or, do I pick up the poo and beetles in a plastic bag and then deposit them sometime later under a bush or shrub? I have opted for the latter…but geez it’s a hassle.
The dilemma of political correctness (or is it council by-laws?)
Focus On Fauna 
where I live there are by-laws that you have to pick it up.
when you pick it up you turn a natural product into a plastic problem, you impose a plastic shield on natural decomposition, you replace the biodegradable with the biodestructive, I like your second solution but appreciate the cumbersomeness.
Hi Ron. It’s been a great summer for dung beetles, esp these little black ones (Onthophagus taurus), which are one of the many species introduced into Australia by the CSIRO. And when they’re around in large numbers, they’ll go for all types of dung, including that of dogs which is likely rather protein rich, compared to dung of stock. Keep an eye out for other dung beetle species too. Bert