Too much poop is going unscooped and spoiling the beauty at the Spittal Pond Nature Reserve, say regular walkers in the area.

One woman who contacted The Royal Gazette said she felt many people who walked their dogs in the nature reserve without scooping were doing something they would never try in their home countries.

"I have passed many people (leaving behind dog waste) and a lot of them seem to be expats,'' she said. "These same people would not be doing this in their own countries.'' The problem is getting out of hand, she said, and is at the point where it is almost impossible to enjoy a leisurely stroll at Spittal Pond anymore.

"This is a beautiful spot for hiking,'' she said. "People are just insensitively messing it up with their dogs. It's sad.'' While Spittal Pond Nature Reserve is half owned by the National Trust, Trust director Amanda Outerbridge said it is still administered by the Parks Department.

However, Ms Outerbridge said she was not aware of any complaints about dog waste in the area. Ms Outerbridge said Parks had placed plastic bag dispensers near the trash bins along the trail and that people should be scooping.

But Parks Officer Craig Burt told The Royal Gazette yesterday that there is no law in place in Bermuda to force people to scoop up after their dogs.

"Some do it and we put dispensers out on a trial basis at Blue Hole and at Spittal Pond, I think,'' said Mr. Burt. "But we found that the `mutt mitts' were being used sparingly and people were taking them and throwing them all over the place.'' However, Mr. Burt did point out that dog walkers should be aware that as of April 1, they are no longer allowed to walk dogs on beaches although they are still allowed free access to the dunes. That rule stays in effect until October 31, he said.

When The Royal Gazette took an investigative stroll around Spittal Pond last Friday, the problem did not seem to be widespread at one entrance while at another entrance, the problem appeared very early along the trail.

At the east entrance to the nature reserve there is a white metal bag dispenser mounted on a post at the start of one of the trails.

"Pick up after your pet,'' reads the dispenser.

While it also says it dispenses "degradable pick-up bags'', the dispenser is stuffed with plastic bread bags and sandwich-type bags. However, the area around the east entrance was free of dog waste when The Royal Gazette examined the scene which suggests people are following the trashy advice.

Not so at the west entrance near the dairy farm. Here there was a post which looked like it might have had a dispenser on it, but was bare and dog excrement lined the walk.

Mr. Burt said the problem with things like dispensers is that "it becomes inviting to vandalise''.

There were no other signs suggesting that dog walkers should be scooping up after their pooches. However, given the proximity of cow waste, it would be difficult to estimate the extent of offence caused by the dog waste.

For walkers however, the problem is constantly afoot.

"You can't even walk around with your head held up,'' said the woman who contacted The Royal Gazette "You have to focus on your feet.'' Amanda Outerbridge