Abstract: Pet waste (canine feces left in public places while a dog is being walked) has become an environmental problem. It is reported that the solution to pet waste is simple ‒ enact legislation to make dog fouling illegal; however, a case study in Izumisano (Japan) shows that such a countermeasure cannot effectively abolish the problem of pet waste. When pet waste is left in public areas, humans and their pets are most at zoonosis risk. However, a majority of dog walkers are not aware of this risk. Since the behavior of pet owners regarding their pets´ waste can be influenced by their knowledge of risk and their strong willingness to protect their pets from risk, it is advisable to comprehensively provide risk information to general citizens in order to reduce pet waste.
Keywords: Dog fouling, Environmental behavior, Izumisano, Pet animals, Risk information, Zoonosis risk.
Title: The Issues of Pet Waste (Canine Feces) ‒ Environmental Problems, Human Behavior and Knowledge of Public Health
Author: Ryunosuke Kikuchi, Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira, Myriam Kanoun-Boulé
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovations
ISSN 2348-1218 (print), ISSN 2348-1226 (online)
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