Editor: When I lived in Canmore, I didn’t enjoy my walks and hikes dodging dog feces either, nor did I relish observing, from the upper deck of my lovely home along the power line in Peaks, countless people allowing their animals, to foul the walking path, and surrounding area.
They had no respect for the rights of others right into Quarry Park where animals are banned. This is not a blight unique to Canmore. Like many who have commented on this issue for years, I too considered it a serious problem.
Since moving to feedlot alley in southern Alberta, where farmers laugh their heads off at folks picking up dog excrement, I have formed another opinion.
Here’s why. There are reportedly 5,000 or so feedlots in Alberta, most of them in the eastern and southern sectors. Soil and groundwater quality scientists by the hundreds constantly monitor water table pollutants, and soil degradation around here and act and advise accordingly.
The numbers of beef cattle, pigs, chickens and anything else alive that humans kill for food travelling non stop 24 hours a day through the process in Alberta each year is in the millions. What these animals leave behind besides hamburgers, juicy steaks, pulled pork sandwiches and McChicken nuggets is unimaginable for most folks, who think their protein falls from the heavens via angelic hand.
Maybe give some thought to what one fully grown ready for a date with the processor, Angus, leaves behind in one day and you’ll (maybe) get the message.
So, do leavings from the dogs in Canmore or anywhere else pose an “out of control environmental failure” or are they “a very concerning environmental issue” as alleged by the writer in her letter Turdmore not the only problem? I doubt it. What’s on your barbecue tonight?
Alvin Shier
Lethbridge, Alberta
